The "air-to-air" Meteor missiles, which have a target destruction range of up to 200 km, have become a point of tension in the relations within the European Union and NATO.
The issue is that Turkey is on the verge of acquiring 40 Eurofighter jets, as Germany has finally given the "green light" after two years. Among the armaments of these aircraft could be Meteor, although it requires additional integration.
This situation is highly unsatisfactory for Athens. Recently, Greek Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Nikos Dendias summoned the French ambassador for a discussion to obtain "official explanations" regarding the potential sale of this missile to Turkey, which contradicts the "excellent strategic relations" between Athens and Paris, as well as violating agreements on defense cooperation between the countries.
It is worth noting that the summoning of the French ambassador is linked to the fact that the headquarters of the manufacturer and developer of the Meteor missile, the pan-European missile conglomerate MBDA, is located in the suburbs of Paris. At the same time, blocking the sale of these missiles would require the will of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and Spain (MBDA is owned by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo).
Additionally, France sold Greece 18 Rafale fighters for €2.4 billion in the F3-R version in 2020, which are integrated with the Meteor missile. This gave these aircraft a significant advantage over the Turkish air force, which operates F-16s with AIM-120. However, the sale of Eurofighters to Turkey with Meteor would eliminate Greece's advantage.
That is why Athens has begun to aggressively warn its European Union partners against selling these missiles to Turkey, a common NATO partner, as this affects the balance of power between countries whose relations are far from ideal.
Ultimately, it will be quite interesting to observe whether Greece can block the sale of Meteor, which Turkey will certainly oppose. Additionally, if Athens succeeds, it will be worth noting whether Ankara will still purchase Eurofighters, as this is a crucial component of their combat capability.
The expenditure on these European fighters will be measured in billions of euros. It is worth recalling that the Italian Ministry of Defense recently ordered Eurofighters, but the price was decided not to be disclosed, as it is frightening.