Greece has decided to deploy two Mirage 2000-5 fighter jets to Karpathos island to signal that the withdrawal of Patriot missile batteries from the Aegean outpost does not represent a concession to Turkish pressure.
Defense Minister Nikos Dendias ordered the deployment after directing the Air Force chief to develop a comprehensive plan for fleet availability. The Patriot systems, previously stationed at Karpathos and Didymoteicho, were repositioned on strictly operational grounds, with no prompting from NATO or the United States, ministry sources told Kathimerini.
Greece is also weighing a rotation of four F-16s currently based at Paphos airbase in Cyprus.The moves come amid heightened tensions over Turkish legislation concerning the so-called “Blue Homeland” maritime doctrine.
Athens has said its response will depend on the bill’s final form. Speaking in Krems, Austria, Dendias warned that “revisionism, exploitation of migration, and the constant challenge of sovereign rights are not theoretical issues discussed at forums – they are daily realities.”
He added that Greece’s defense spending, exceeding three percent of GDP, “is not a policy of choice – it is a result of necessity.”
