| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
IAF, Hellenic Air Force concluded Joint Exercise in Israel
IAF, Hellenic Air Force concluded Joint Exercise in Israel
After two intensive weeks of training in Ramat-David AFB, a joint training
exercise between the Israeli and Hellenic Air Force has ended. The exercise
included many challenges and simulated a variety of scenarios
IsraelDefense | 26/12/2016
http://www.israeldefense.co.il/en/node/28023
Two Greek F-16 Squadrons and the IAF’s “First Jet” Squadron that operates
the “Barak” (F-16C/D) united for a unique joint training exercise, codenamed
“Viper Valley 2016.” For two weeks, reports the IAF website, Israelis and
Greeks trained together in Israeli skies.
Col. Amnon, Ramat-David AFB Commander: “The Greek deployment is of
historical significance because Ramat-David AFB usually doesn’t host foreign
fighter division deployments. This is a trailblazing event. The last time
foreign fighter aircraft were hosted in Ramat-David AFB was in 1956
Operation ‘Kadesh’ when French ‘Mystere’ arrived for an operational
deployment.”
The Israeli and Greek forces were divided into “Blue” and “Red’ teams. The
“Blue” teams included Israeli and Greek aircrews who trained together, and
the “Red” teams were made up of Israeli pilots only.
According to Col. Amnon, “The process begins with an initial idea that
develops and undergoes a number of stages such as appointing a responsible
figure from the leading squadron who, among other things, decides the flight
scenarios.”
“Most of the effort we put into preparation was dedicated to organizing the
schedule, checking what happens every day and making sure we have all of the
necessary equipment for the exercise,” shared Maj. Dimitrios Gritzaliotis,
Commander of the Greek deployment to Ramat-David. “The exercise’s schedule
is tight, and we are facing Air-Air and Air-Ground scenarios in a smaller
airspace than we are familiar with, a factor that is a big challenge for
us.”
Together Against the Enemy
In the exercise, the aircrews faced various scenarios that included attack,
air defense, night attack sorties in deep enemy territory while facing the
anti-aircraft threat and aerial refueling.
“The process of choosing these scenarios included a fair amount of
deliberations,” said Maj. David, the deployment leader from the “First
Squadron.” “International training exercises are usually performed in
accordance with NATO combat doctrine. In the current exercise, we decided to
choose slightly more ‘Israeli’ scenarios, in other words, the planning and
execution method of the sorties was characteristic of Israeli squadrons.”
An exercise of this nature includes many challenges: weather challenges,
refueling foreign aircraft, low flight and above all – the language and
performance gap. All of the aircrews participated in a thorough preparation
program before the exercise that included instructions workshops, training
sorties and designated exercises that simulated possible malfunctions. The
debriefing room was occupied lengthily while safety procedures, weather
briefs, and briefs regarding the foreign playground, were repeated time and
time again.
For about two weeks, the aircrews prepared in english, English signs were
installed on the runways, and the presence of a Greek representative in the
control tower was emphasized.
Greek-Israeli Partnership
“The Greeks are longtime partners of ours, and the current exercise is
another step forward in our cooperation,” said Col. Amnon. “The fact that
this was a relatively small deployment allowed us to create an intimate
training exercise and develop tighter relationships.”
“I hope to profit from this cooperation in a way that both sides see the
scenarios they train for daily and from a different point of view,” added
Maj. Gritzaliotis. “We expect to continue the cooperation between the two
air forces and in the near future host the Israeli aircrews as they did us.”
The article was originally published by Eitam Almadon on the IAF website.
Source: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=71942
