Twice in previous years the Greek “hawks” had the opportunity to get a “taste” of the F-35. From the unique 5th generation Stealth fighter which is now certain to be the most powerful “game changer” weapon system not only in the “quiver” of our Air Force but of the Armed Forces as a whole.
The first was during the multinational air exercise “HNIOHOS 2019” when the Italian F-35s landed at the 117th Fighter Wing in Andravida. Despite the fact that the Italian pilots had great restrictions from both the Aeronautica Militare and the manufacturing company LockheedMartin, especially in activating the Stealth capabilities of the aircraft, the “hawks” of the HAF drew the first conclusions about the uniqueness of the aircraft.
But in the second “contact” that the Greek pilots had with the F-35, they got a more complete picture of the capabilities of the invisible fighter. It was in October 2021 in Israel’s airspace during the large exercise ”BlueFlag 2021”. There the pilots of the 336 Fighter Squadron “OLYMPUS” had the opportunity to take part in several joint scenarios together with the Israeli F-35 and to x-ray the advantages of the Stealth fighter in all forms of air warfare. From the way the fighter itself moves “invisible” targets and strikes to the guidance it can provide as a flying platform to other aircraft such as the F-16 block52+ adv that “Olympus” flies with
This time in the 115th Fighter Wing in Souda and in the Hellenic Airspace everything is now different. Where the 10 American F-35 Stealth fighters have already landed along with 14 more USAFE F-15 Strike Eagle aircraft to take part in the major air exercise “Poseidon Rage 2022”. Starting next Monday and for two weeks, fighters from all HAF Squadrons will have the opportunity to fly “wing-to-wing” with the “invisible” F-35s as well as the powerful F-35s and take part in a series of air to air, air to sea and air to ground scenarios. With an emphasis on the maritime area south of Crete where Turkey makes claims with the illegal Turkish-Libyan memorandum.
The entry of Greece and our Air Force into the Stealth fighter program with the LOR already in the competent office of the State Department is considered a given that it will “unlock” even in the first stage the reticence of the Americans and will release useful information for the capabilities of our Air Force’s next fighter.
For the first time, the Greek “hawks” will have the opportunity for two weeks to fly daily and take part in missions together with the “invisible” fighter and indeed within the Athens FIR in areas of high interest for National Sovereign Rights. According to information, this is only the beginning of the presence of Stealth fighters in Greece. In the next period we expect to see the American F-35 more and more often at the Air Force Bases of our Air Force until the first “invisible” aircraft painted in the colors of the HAF land in Greece.
