The Larissa Air Base has recently hosted two KC-135 flying tankers of the US Air Force. It should be recalled that the same base has also been hosting a US MQ-9 Reaper drone unit for some time.
Yesterday, Tuesday, the Air Force's flight activity was intense and included co-training of Greek F-16s with US KC-135 flying tankers in an area near Crete.
Air Force staffs are making the most of the existence of the American tankers in Larissa and are having them fly every week as part of their NATO obligations, giving Greek F-16 pilots the opportunity to put in valuable hours of aerial refueling experience and even large formations.
The relevant Air Force announcement even says: "On Tuesday, June 27, 2023, as part of the broader planning of the General Staff of the Air Force in terms of international cooperation, a joint training of Air Force (FA) fighter aircraft with a U.S. Air Force (USAF) KC-135 aircraft and a NATO E-3A Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) early warning aircraft was conducted.
Day and night aerial refueling was conducted during the co-training, with the PA participating with 48 F-16 aircraft sorties and the USAF with 2 sorties of 134 Air Refueling Wing KC-135 aircraft.
A High Value Airborn Asset (HVAA) protection and attack mission was also carried out with the participation of 16 F-16, 4 Rafale and 2 M2000-5 fighters of the PA, as well as the USAF KC-135 and the E-3A AWACS."
Just last Tuesday, June 20, 2023, an aerial refueling exercise between Air Force fighter aircraft and U.S. Air Force (USAF) aircraft was conducted again.
The Air Force participated in that co-exercise with 50 F-16 aircraft sorties and the USAF with two sorties of KC-135 aircraft from the 134 Air Refueling Wing that have been redeployed to the 110th Fighter Wing, Larissa Air Force Base.
The purpose of the exercise was to train and maintain F-16 aircrews in day and night Air to Air Refueling (AAR) procedures.
Last Tuesday, May 23, as part of the planning of the General Staff of the Armed Forces in terms of international cooperation between the Armed Forces and the implementation of the Greece-Israel Defence Cooperation Programme 2023, a joint training exercise was conducted between fighter aircraft of the Air Force and aircraft of the Israeli Air Force in the wider area south of Crete.
The Air Force participated in the training with 53 F-16 fighter aircraft, while the IAF participated with 2 B707 Tanker Air Refueling Aircraft of 120 Squadron (Desert Giants).
