Greece approves 1.2 billion-euro US deal for F-16 fighters

ATHENS, Greece — A panel of senior Greek government and military officials has approved a 1.2-billion-euro ($1.45 billion) deal to upgrade more than half of the country’s American-made F-16 fighter planes.

Officials say the deal approved by the Greek cabinet on Saturday will give 85 of Greece’s fleet of F-16s capabilities similar to the much more advanced F-35 fighters minus stealth technology.

The terms of the agreement call for Greece to pay for the improvements until 2027 or 2028, but the U.S. agreed to cap annual payments at 150 million euros ($182 million) after that.

U.S. Ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt tweeted that the approval built on Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s visit to the White House in October.

Tsipras leads the Greek cabinet.