Greece Could Usurp Turkey’s Role As Leading NATO Air Power In Eastern Mediterranean (From RealClearDefense)

The most recent dispute between Turkey and Greece has created a disturbance within the alliance that was supposed to deter such conflicts. In September of 2020, Turkey began to actively search for oil and natural gas deposits close to Cyprus, quickly escalating into a quarrel over boundaries similar to those in the past. The boundary dispute could be the last straw for NATO given Turkey’s inconsistent record as an ally. Turkey, which has the second-largest military in NATO, had already been kicked out of the F-35 fighter consortium in 2018 for purchasing S-400 missiles from Russia. A new dispute between these two countries was always going to bring NATO’s F-35 fighter jet program into focus. This is where Greece has the opportunity to usurp Turkey’s former role, and Athens appears to be taking it. As of November, Greece has also been in negotiations to acquire F-35s of its own, thus petitioning to join the consortium from which Turkey was excommunicated. I have written more on this topic here.