Greece said it will buy 18 French-made Rafale warplanes, four multi-purpose frigates, and four navy helicopters.

The announcement was made by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis amid tension with Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean.

Mitsotakis said that the "robust" arms purchase program and an overhaul of the country's military.

"The time has come to reinforce the armed forces... these initiatives constitute a robust program that will become a national shield," the PM said in a keynote address in the northern city of Thessaloniki.

Mitsotakis said Greece would also recruit 15,000 new troops and pouring resources into the national arms industry and cyber-attack defense.