A Sample Feature From Aviation News

Aegean Stand-off

Above: Interceptions are just as likely at night as during daylight hours. To ensure QRA pilots are ready, night flying training is undertaken on a regular basis. This dramatic sunset shot was captured at Tanagra just as the first wave of two 332 Squadron Mirage 2000s completed their final checks. (All photos, Ian Harding, Christopher Lofting and Richard Gennis)

‘WE ARE on constant alert throughout Greece. We have to be because of the number of daily incursions of our air space by the Turkish Air Force. We have known 30-40 incursions in one day with the total number of annual air-to-air engagements around the 3,000 mark’. This comment by a senior pilot interviewed while on QRA (Quick Reaction Alert), explains why the HAF has undergone such a major modernisation programme involving its front-line fighter strength. The force is always at ‘combat readiness’ tasked with protecting its homeland, not against shadowy terrorists but in a continuing stand-off with its fellow Nato member across the island-strewn waters that form a southern playground for thousands of tourists every year. Such high-profile tension has been a factor on both sides, in spite of their membership of the Alliance. Aircraft and aircrew from both air forces regularly co-operate and participate in peace- keeping missions and regular exercises such as Cooperative Key, a Partnership for Peace exercise (PfP), Exercise Elite, recently staged in Germany, multinational training like the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) and the recent ‘Arctic Tiger’ event in Norway (see December 2007 edition). While mutual respect for each other certainly exists in these situations, when it comes to border control there is no compromise. This is ultimately the ‘business’ end of what the HAF does and it is the reason why such a large proportion of Greece’s Gross Domestic Product is allocated to defence; approximately $5bn during 2006-07. With Turkey spending almost twice this amount during the same period, the monies allocated by the Greek Government need to be spent wisely.

Above: The Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) AS332Cs of 384 MED at their home base of Elefsis. It was one of these helicopters which went to the aid of the Turkish Air Force F-16 pilot following the tragic collision involving a HAF F-16 over the Aegean in May 2006.

Aegean tension
The dispute over borders is not new. In particular, Turkey’s obstinacy over the continuing occupation of the northern part of Cyprus is deeply disturbing to Greece. Only with the withdrawal of all military forces from the island can some of the long-term damage between the two nations begin to be repaired. Closer to home, the on-going tension is all to do with what constitutes ‘territorial’ waters and who owns them. During the course of the 20th Century, the standard distance of territorial waters has increased from three nautical miles at the beginning of the century, to six miles, and currently 12 miles (c.22 km). The 12-mile limit has been enshrined in treaty law by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (Art.3). However, in the Aegean, the territorial waters claimed by both Greece and Turkey remains at six miles but the prospect of an extension to 12 has ultimately fuelled Turkish concerns over a possible disproportionate increase in Greek-controlled airspace. Turkey has therefore refused to become a member of the convention and does not consider itself bound by it, although it has applied the customary 12 miles on its other coastlines outside the Aegean. Greece, which is party to the convention, has stated that it reserves the right to apply this rule and extend its waters to 12 miles at some point in the future, although to date it has not attempted to do so.

Most confrontations over such disputed areas pass without much problem, but some do not. The most recent example ocurred on May 23, 2006, with tragic consequences for the HAF. During a routine interception, an F-16C of 343 Sqn from Souda Bay was hit by one of two Turkish F-16Cs from 192 Filo at Balikesir. The Turkish F-16s were flying over the Southern Aegean at 27,000ft off the Greek island of Karpathos along with an F-4 without having submitted flight plans with Greek FIR authorities. They were intercepted by two Greek F-16s and during the subsequent engagement, two fighters ‘collided’ with the HAF pilot tragically losing his life. In what now seems an almost surreal event after such tragic circumstances, the pilot of the Turkish F-16C who survived the crash refused to be rescued from the sea by the Greek AS332 Super Puma which was first on the scene. He chose to wait until a civilian vessel appeared which then pulled him from the water.

Subsequently, both Greece and Turkey expressed their natural desire to quickly establish a direct ‘hotline’ between the air force commands of both countries in order to prevent escalation of similar situations in the future. While this is a positive step forward it does not change the fact that intercepting aircraft of the Turkish Air Force remains an almost daily occurrence.

Above: This ‘clean’ 346 Squadron F16D-30 climbs out following a low pass on its recovery to Larissa. Most of the fighter squadrons within TAFC contain an operational conversion unit (SMET) and in this role, instructor pilots combine training alongside their normal operation.

Border defence is the responsibility of the Taktiki Aeroporiki Dynami or Tactical Air Force Command (TAFC) headquartered at Larissa air base in northern Greece. Established in 1952, the fighter component of the TAFC operates from six front-line bases with14 squadrons under its command operating approximately 300 aircraft comprising a mix of Lockheed Martin F-16s (Block 30, 50 and 52) divided between seven squadrons, Dassault Mirage 2000 EG/BGs (and now the -5 variant) equipping two squadrons, McDonnell Douglas F-4E AUP and RF-4E Phantoms with three squadrons, and LTV A-7E and TA-7C Corsair IIs in two squadrons. These units are based at Larissa (110CW), Nea Anghialos (111CW), Tanagra (114CW), Souda Bay (115CW), Araxos (116CW) and Andravida (117CW).

To provide protection for Greece’s territory in the eastern Aegean Sea, some squadrons base up to four aircraft on regular detachment to bases on the islands. These act as Forward Operating Locations (FOLs) for the TAFC and are situated on Limnos and Crete (Kasteli air base), principally served by the F-16s from Larissa, Nea Anghialos and Souda Bay, Skiros which is served by Mirage 2000s from Tanagra, and Santorini (Thira), which is served by the F-4Es from Andravida. Each front-line base currently has up to three Mira or squadrons assigned as well as a training or operational conversion unit (SMET-Sminos Metekpaidefsis ston Tipo).

Above: The HAF now has three squadrons flying the Block 52 F-16 with 337 Squadron at Larissa being the latest. The squadron currently has 20 aircraft assigned and at the time of our visit, the unit was busily preparing for an end of year Nato response unit evaluation.

Waiting for the alert!
‘It is the most demanding and challenging part of our job and we face this every day in Greece. It isn’t enjoyable’, was the view of one pilot from Tanagra AB reflecting on the demands of being on QRA. As well as the mainland, the HAF is also responsible for the air defence of the islands – all 9,835 of them!

It is TAFC at Larissa that decides which squadrons and bases provide QRA facilities, how long this is for, what the rotation policy will be between squadrons and how many aircraft are required to protect Greece. This is reviewed on a monthly basis. With QRA required 24 hours per day, seven days a week, this is clearly a demanding task and the rotation policy and the workload between squadrons is considered to be of vital importance. For example, at Tanagra, the Mirage 2000s of 331 and 332 Mira both have QRA responsibilities which include sending aircraft to their FOL at Skiros where they generally undertake QRA from sunrise to sunset while those at Tanagra are responsible for QRA at night. If 331 was providing 5min QRA at Skiros then the aircraft of 332 Mira would be responsible for QRA from Tanagra and vice versa. Exceptions to this rule can occur where, for example, the F-16s from Larissa, Nea Anghialos and Souda Bay share the QRA responsibility at the FOL at Kasteli on Crete.

The standard alert status is five minutes but where QRA has been activated, other aircraft may well be placed on 15min readiness, depending on the nature and extent of the incursion. Generally, QRA duty would last one week for each squadron with each shift lasting 12 hours and two pilots per squadron on QRA duty at their home base with three on duty at their FOL. At present, QRA facilities are located at five of the six front-line fighter bases mentioned earlier, with each having its own ‘area of responsibility’ or sector of Greece to defend, North, Central and Southern Greece. The one exception currently is Araxos which is only a few minutes flying time from Andravida, home to the F-4E AUP. However, this may change when the base receives the first of its new F-16 Block 52 aircraft in 2009.

Below: The main role for the A-7s at Araxos is Tactical Air Support for Maritime Operations (TASMO) and Close Air Support (CAS).

In terms of sector responsibility, the defence of Northern Greece is covered by Larissa and Nea Anghialos, Central Greece by Tanagra and Andravida and Southern Greece by Souda Bay on Crete. With each location having at least two aircraft on QRA (detachments at FOLs can be up to four aircraft), it is quite likely therefore that on any one day in excess of 20 aircraft could potentially be ‘combat ready’ to defend Greece’s borders.

While precise alert procedures remain classified, the broad standard for identification and the reporting of incursions is that Greek Military Air Traffic will track all aircraft movements into Greek airspace and notify the operations centre at Larissa of any aircraft they cannot identify. The decision to engage an unidentified target or targets would then be made and the order to scramble given to a specific base and squadron. Precise rules of engagement do exist but exactly what happens when targets are engaged will ultimately depend on the circumstances at the time and ultimately the extent of any provocation. The aim at all times for the HAF and the pilots is to avoid any form of ‘dogfight’ for obvious reasons and of course, some interceptions will involve civilian aircraft which have strayed or are lost and these must be handled with care and sensitivity. Once the mission is accomplished, TAFC will report the incursion and the nature of the airspace violation to Nato and also to the European Union via the Greek Foreign Office.

While at Tanagra, we were witness to one of the more than 3,000 incursions per year. The alert sounded and we moved quickly (or so we thought!) away from the immediate area surrounding the aircraft, but we were literally overtaken by the two pilots and ground crew who within seconds had prepared their two Mirage 2000EGs and started the engines. As the alert status moved from five to two minutes, the two Mirages were ready to roll but at the last minute, word came through that the alert was over. The ground crew quickly returned to their aircraft, the engines were shut down and the pilots left their cockpits to walk calmly back to the crew room to return to readiness. So ended one alert on a still, warm night in September.

Above: Basking in high temperatures at Tanagra, this Mirage 2000-5BG is currently one of four two-seat aircraft currently on strength with 331 Squadron. The squadron will eventually receive 25 Dash 5 aircraft of which five will be BGs. Under the wing is a training MBDA Mica air-to-air IR round which is superceding the Magic 2 as the main Mirage heat-seeking missile

Below: The HAF and TAFC hope that it will not be too long before the first of four Embraer 145H AEW&C aircraft ordered will be available to work closely with its fighter force. For now, the aircraft remain out of service at their home base of Elefsis retaining their civilian registration but no HAF roundels until they enter service.

For the rest of this feature please see the January 2008 issue.