UAE sends F-16 jets to Crete for joint drills with Greece
Move comes as tensions continue to rise with rival Turkey in the Mediterranean.
By ANNA AHRONHEIMA United Arab Emirates Air Force Mirage 2000 (L), UAE F-16 Desert Falcon (C) and a U.S. F-35A Lightning II (R) fly a partnering flight in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, in the Arabian Gulf, May 29, 2019(photo credit: CHRIS DRZAZGOWSKI/U.S. NAVY/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Four F-16s from the UAE landed in Crete to take part in drills with Greece, as tensions rise with Turkey.The jets will be deployed to Souda Air Base on the Greek island, along with support staff, engineers and ground personnel, and will carry out training with the Hellenic Armed Forces over the Eastern Mediterranean.According to Greek media, the drills come after the Greek and UAE’s army chiefs discussed developments in the region last week.Greek Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has also held talks with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed al-Nahyan.Both Athens and Abu Dhabi are bitter rivals of Turkey, which began conducting military drills with F-16s and warships on Saturday in the Aegean Sea.The drills by Turkey and Greece come as they are facing off in the Eastern Mediterranean over gas and oil exploration, despite a call from the EU for Ankara to stop its activities in the contested waters claimed by both countries.The two countries have come to the brink of war three times since the mid-1970s, including over drilling exploration rights in the Aegean.The Greek Reporter news site linked the drill to the deepening ties between the UAE and Israel, one of Greece’s main allies in the region.Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi announced on August 13 they would normalize relations, a move that angered Ankara.The close ties between Israel and Greece are based on a number of shared strategic and economic interests. According to Greek Reporter, the Greece-UAE drills “send an unmistakable signal to anyone who might think of challenging Greece that the nation is far from alone in defending its borders.”Israel maintains broad cooperation with Greece and has participated with it in several military exercises, especially following the downgrading of Jerusalem’s ties with Turkey.“The Greeks are a major and natural strategic partner,” a senior international cooperation officer told The Jerusalem Post recently, adding that “someone had to fill the empty spot when we stopped doing drills with the Turks.”As tensions continue to escalate between Greece and Turkey, Athens has been working to strengthen its maritime capabilities. In May Israel and Greece’s defense ministries signed an agreement for Israel to lease IAI Heron UAVs to Greece for border defense.Greek ONEX Neorion Shipyards and Israel Shipyards have also signed a cooperation agreement for the construction of next-generation corvette ships for the Greek navy.The agreement, which was signed during the recent visit by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to Israel on June 16, will see up to six Themistocles-class corvettes be built based on plans by Israel Shipyards, based in Haifa.The Themistocles design is reported to be “basically the same design” as Israel’s Sa’ar 72 mini-corvettes, but with modifications according to the needs of the Hellenic Navy.
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