In a post on X, the Minister of National Defense, Nikos Dendias, emphasized that the government acted correctly when it prioritized the purchase of the F-35 aircraft, while also sharing a related video from his recent statement to the Parliamentary Committee on National Defense and Foreign Affairs on September 24, 2025.
Specifically, as Nikos Dendias mentions in the video, “here in Parliament there was a discussion about the F-35s and the admiral at the time had said – Admiral (ret.) Apostolakis, I refer to him as admiral as I’m used to calling him that, although I should address him as ‘Mr. Minister’ – ‘why are you going for the F-35s when the Navy has enormous needs?'”
See Nikos Dendias’ post:
Η υπενθύμιση για τα F-35 και γιατί προτάξαμε την αγορά τους, κατά την πρόσφατη τοποθέτησή μου στη Διαρκή Επιτροπή Εθνικής Άμυνας & Εξωτερικών Υποθέσεων της Βουλής (24/9/2025). pic.twitter.com/oOlhZ9D6Gk
— Nikos Dendias (@NikosDendias) September 26, 2025
“Please remember that I had said ‘excuse me, who will take responsibility if in the next elections – Biden was President then – President Trump wins and President Erdogan succeeds in getting President Trump to let him acquire F-35s and Turkey succeeds in getting F-35s before Greece?'” he continues.
“We prioritized the F-35s then,” he explains, “and correctly, it was proven that we prioritized the F-35s.” Furthermore, the minister clarifies that “I’m not predicting that Turkey will get them” but, “to be honest, it’s elementary prudence that we already have them and let the Turks try.”
