Greece and France have sealed a $2.8 billion deal for the purchase of 18 Rafale fighter jets for the Greek air force. The deal is part of a larger weapons purchase program that Greece is carrying out as it sits down to negotiate a solution to a growing dispute with Turkey over energy rights in the eastern Mediterranean.

The deal makes Greece the first European country to acquire the state-of-the-art Rafale jet fighters, made by France’s Dassault company.

It is also the first major arms purchase Greece has made since it emerged from a 10-year financial crisis that imposed some of its most brutal budget cuts on its armed forces.

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