Greek bases to hosts largest NATO air exercise this Fall.
- Written by E.Tsiliopoulos
The 117th Andravida Fighter Wing and the 116th Araxos Fighter Wing will host the "Ramstein Flag" exercise for the first time, this autumn.
Two Greek bases are going to host the largest NATO air exercise for 2024 at the inter-alliance level, "Ramstein Flag", which will be organized for the first time in Greece.
According to Kathimerini, the 117th Fighter Wing of Andravida and the 116th Fighter Wing of Araxos will receive aircraft and personnel from almost all the countries of the Alliance, with Greece being at the center of NATO's plans.
From the Greek side, the participation of the entire air fleet is planned, with the Rafale and the upgraded F-16 Vipers being at the forefront of operations.
The Greek air defense is also expected to play a leading role, with the activation of elements throughout the territory, while units of the Navy and Special Operations Forces are expected to take part in the exercise, participating in target designation missions.
Turkey's participation
Competent sources clarified that Turkey will normally be invited to the exercise, as planned by the NATO headquarters.
According to the same sources, the calm climate in Greek-Turkish offers, for the first time in decades, a rare opportunity for joint training between the two air forces in the Aegean sky.
However, it has not yet been clarified whether Turkish fighters will be stationed in Araxos or Andravida or will participate in the exercise using the airports located on the Asia Minor coast as bases.
The first steps were taken a few months ago, again under the NATO "umbrella" when Greek and Turkish planes flew in mixed formations and against each other, in air combat scenarios, together with American and British fighters. It was preceded, however, by the "expulsion" of Ankara from the NATO Tiger Meet 22 inter-alliance exercise organized in Araxos, due to Turkey's provocative behavior and the unprecedented barrage of overflights over Greek islands.
