Immoral propaganda against Greece and provocative actions on the ground by the Turks – Immediate responses from Greek diplomacy and vigilance of the Armed Forces from Evros to Kastellorizo.
On May 23, 2006, four Greek F-16s were ordered to take off from the Souda base with the mission of identifying and intercepting six Turkish fighters that were accompanying a Turkish Air Force photographic aircraft and had invaded the Athens FIR heading for Crete.
The Turkish formation aimed to accompany the photographic RF-4 to the coast of Crete, in order to locate the positions where the Russian S-300 anti-missile systems had been deployed. The Greek operators, among them the hero Sminagos Kostas Iliakis, knew this and were tasked with preventing the Turks from reaching the coast of Crete.
The sequel is more or less known… at 12.43, the Turkish squadron commander Ibrahim Hali, carrying out a murderous maneuver, literally throws his fighter aircraft onto the cover of the F-16 fighter aircraft that was being flown by Squadron Leader Iliakis, killing him instantly, while the Turkish pilot, using the ejection seat, found himself in the sea.
The Turks wish to create similar dangerous situations in the Aegean every day, in order to cause a “hot” episode with unpredictable consequences. In fact, the Turkish regime seems to have targeted the same area again, between Crete – Karpathos – Rhodes, wanting to prove that their fighters are “locked” by the Greek S-300s. In this way, they think they will convince the West that Greece is using the Russian anti-missile system against an “allied” country, asking for their withdrawal and weakening the US argument that it is not giving them F-16s because of the acquisition of the S-400.
After all, Erdogan himself said it, that the Turkish fighters were targeted by the Greek air defense in the Aegean, wanting to justify his next sentence that “Turkey will react when the time is right”. Of course, the Turkish president “forgot” to tell us what the Turkish aircraft were doing in the Aegean and the reasons why they had violated the Athens FIR…
At the same time, the Turkish media are full of false and non-existent publications against our country, for the handling of immigration, the demilitarization of islands, and even for alleged violations of Turkish airspace, attempting to create a climate and present Greece as the aggressor. In fact, the narrative of “Greek provocativeness and delinquency” is what the Turks are preparing to show to NATO as well by allegedly filing documents about the “locking” of Turkish fighters by the “allied” Greek air defense.
In Athens, they do not “bite” at the provocations of the Turkish regime. With sobriety and serious arguments, Greek diplomacy does not leave any challenge unanswered, “erasing” the Turkish objections one by one. At the same time, the Armed Forces have created an impregnable wall throughout the Aegean, fully controlling all “key” points and literally waiting for every move by the Turks.
Tayyip Erdogan’s statement that those harassing Turkish aircraft will pay a “heavy price” and the fact that they have been entering the Athens FIR armed in recent days is causing concern in Athens, with GEA Chief Lt. Gen. Themistocles Bourolias drawing the attention of Greek pilots who are daily faced with the inexperienced, “unskilled” and dangerous Turkish operators.
It is obvious that the Turks are escalating the provocations by reason and deed, looking for a “hot” episode as soon as possible that will drag us one by one into talks where they will put their unacceptable and illegal demands with a pistol on the table. Perhaps, Erdogan thinks, it is the only way to present a victory against Greece and convince his fanatical domestic audience to vote for him in the upcoming Turkish elections.
But for this victory to come, they must first prevail on the field, where the Greek Armed Forces are in no mood for games. The three Branches are in a permanent state of increased vigilance, controlling every movement on the Turkish coast, with the Chief of the GEETHA, General Konstantinos Floros and the Chiefs of the three Branches formulating their strategy and tactics every day, depending on what developments. The instructions given are clear for every movement of the opposite side… from the exits of the Turkish navy and their coast guard, to the smallest Turkish fishing boat that will be out in the open.
The coming weeks will be critical, with Turkish rhetoric becoming even more extreme and challenges on the ground intensifying. It requires composure, readiness and determination, elements which the Air Force and the Navy and the Army possess in the highest degree at this time.
