With 4 F16s of the 347 Squadron from Volos, the Air Force is participating this year in the "Spears of Victory" exercise which has started and will last for 2 weeks.
The Hellenic Armed Forces participated in the corresponding exercise that took place in 2022 in Saudi Arabia with 2 Officers as Observers, while in "SPEARS OF VICTORY 23" with 4 F-16 Fighter Aircraft and a support echelon, at the request of the Chairman of the General Staff General Fayyad Bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili.
The Exercise was planned and coordinated by the AIR WAR CENTER of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF).
During the Exercise, complex operational aviation scenarios will be executed, such as:
● Defensive and Offensive Air Operations (Defensive – Offensive Counter Air).
● Air Combat between different types of Aircraft (Dissimilar Air Combat Training – DACT).
● Dynamic Targeting (Dynamic Targeting).
● Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR).
● Support of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Systems (UAV Support).
● Run Slow Mover Interset air scenarios.
By participating in this exercise, the Greek fighters will have the opportunity to gain even more experience from the joint flights with the Typhoon fighters of both the Saudis and the British, which the Turkish Air Force is known to have set its sights on in order to try to compensate for the Greek Rafale.
In addition to the Typhoons (better known in Greece as Eurofighters) of the RAF participating in this year's exercise, the Royal Saudi Air Force will be flying its Typhoons, Tornados and F-15s. F-16s are participating from Bahrain, Greece and the UAE. The Saudi F-15s will be joined by others from Qatar. The French Air and Space detachment will contribute Rafales and the Pakistan Air Force will fly their JF-17s. The Royal Air Force of Oman will also fly Typhoons.
During the exercise nations will conduct defensive air defense and offensive air defense operations, as well as air interdiction training against live and simulated threats. The aim is to test the pilots' reactions to a variety of situations in a demanding aerial environment.
In addition to the large number of fast jets involved, the exercise will be supported by various other transport early warning systems aircraft, tankers and airborne systems as well as helicopters to deliver the training scenarios each day.
The command and control training, mission planning and completion training provided by the exercise will ensure a high level of training for all participants. The exercise will also include real and simulated air defenses, and each nation will fly as "attackers" during the exercise.
The exercise is designed to increase the tactical proficiency of all participating countries. Collaboratively, the exercise develops the ability of participating nations to plan and execute complex missions together, in a contested air environment.
