A pair of Mirage 2000-5s fighter jets will be stationed on the island of Karpathos in the south Aegean Sea to replace the Patriot battery that had been transferred to the island to provide protection from a possible ballistic threat to the Southeastern flank of the NATO.
According to daily “Kathimerini”, this decision was made in order to fill a possible operational gap, while it is noted that work is being carried out at the Karpathos airport so that it can support the long-term parking of Air Force (AF) fighters.
The news comes a day after Greece’s National Security Council (KYSEA) decided to bring back to their permanent bases the two Patriot batteries that were stationed on Karpathos and Didymoteicho in northern Greece during the US-Israel-Iran war. KYSEA’s decision to remove the Patriot from Karpathos has been interpreted as a concession to Turkey.
Competent sources noted to in.gr, that it has been decided that the Mirage 2000-5 pair will be permanently stationed on Karpathos for the security of the area.
Furthemore, it has also been reportedly decided to withdraw from Cyprus the 4 F-16s that were stationed in Paphos at the beginning of the war crisis in the Persian Gulf and both will be replaced by Air Force (AF) pairs in order to fill the relevant gap.
Competent sources reportedly disconnected the redeployment of forces from the public discourse on the ruling party in Turkey and the bill of “Blue Motherland” according to which Ankara will extend its Exclusive Economic zone up to 200 nautical miles.
The bill expected to be voted by ruling AKP is scheduled to be submitted to the Turkish parliament next June.
