According to “K”already State Department approved the provision two S-130 transports in Greece, which will be provided by surplus American military equipment. The US State Department is preparing to formally notify Congress to launch the planned process, and an agreement will be announced for the purchase of two new C-130 transport aircraft from the United States.

A detailed discussion of the possibility of urgent provision of these vehicles took place as part of the Strategic Dialogue in February in Athens between the Director of the Department of Regional Security and Weapon Systems Transport of the State Department Laura CressyGreek Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander.

In addition, it is expected immediately after elections in Turkeyand, in particular, the short period between elections in Greece, to obtain the last of the four signatures required in Congress, in order to activate the official process for obtaining F-35 aircraft.

As you know, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Robert Menendez affixed his signature to the relevant informal request, while World Affairs Committee Chairman and Vice Chairman Mike McCall and Gregory Meeks followed him relatively quickly on the side of the House of Representatives.

According to reports, very soon Jim Rees, vice chairman of the committee in the Senate will sign. This will immediately be followed by a formal notification (submission of a formal request for approval) to Congress by the government, the sending of a Letter of Acceptance and related negotiations with the aim of starting Greece to receive the first 5th generation aircraft in 2028.

According to the information, the State Department has already approved the provision of two S-130 transport vehicles to Greece.

As another extremely important development, which is expected to be announced soon, Greece will receive an additional financial assistance package in the form of a loan or loan guarantees from the US government for the purchase of US weapons systems.

It is part of a congressional-approved package for NATO allies who want to meet the needs created by services to Ukraine to upgrade their military hardware.

In this context, discussions about granting Ukraine S-300 is in Crete and parallel receiving Patriot Systems from USA.

The total amount approved by Congress is $8 billion, with Greece and Poland reportedly receiving the bulk of the fund. This is a procedure that was used only once, ten years ago, in the case of Iraq.

The procedure for issuing a loan or loan guarantees involves the submission of an offer by the interested ally through the Office of Defense Cooperation at the local American embassy.

The request is then sent by the State Department, and the Pentagon Defense and Security Cooperation Service, in cooperation with the Treasury Department, agrees on the terms of the loan. A simple notification is sent to Congress as the total amount has already been approved, the FMS case is created separately for each country, and the funds are allocated through a special trust fund for specific sales.