When we have such skilled pilots who still do “stealth” the F-16s for the Turks we have nothing to fear.
There has been a lot of talk lately about the need to buy stealth F-35s so we can overcome Turkey’s air defenses and gain strategic superiority in the Aegean.
However, there are now clear indications that the Turkish radar operators are a bit more of a slob than we think. Once again they managed not to take 8 F-16 aircraft of the 115th Fighter Wing that flew to Cyprus and Israel to participate in an exercise.
Something similar happened two years ago, when again the Turkish air defense failed to detect Greek F-16s that were going to Cyprus.
This time the Greek F-16s would participate in the Frizis Damas 2022 exercise held in Israel. Our aircraft stopped in Cyprus and then continued to Israel, where the exercise was also conducted.
Once again the Turkish radars missed the Greek planes, which they were informed about by the announcements of their participation in the exercise in Israel. As before, the Turks were alarmed by the incident and investigations were carried out to assign responsibility.
The joint exercise between Greece and Israel took place out of the blue as there was no official announcement. The specific exercise had particularly positive results, as the Israeli pilots have found in their Greek colleagues, the most capable allies to train in difficult scenarios.
As for the F-35, it is certain that they will give our country a significant advantage on many levels. Even if, as the Chief of the General Air Staff Vice Admiral Themistocles Bourolias said, flying in a joint exercise with F-16 and American F-35, the latter “do not have the advantage of close air combat, but a strategic weapon, invisible to the adversaries due to of stealth features they possess.”
In any case, the “invisible” Greek F-16s prove once again that the Turkish air defense is not invulnerable. And that the skills of our pilots combined with strategic alliances can make a difference in the Aegean.
