Dramatic new footage has emerged that shows a Greek pilot flying a Mirage fighter jet and locking onto a Turkish F-16 fighter jet that was violating Greek airspace on Sunday, SKAI reported.
According to the report, the dogfight took place in the Central Aegean at about the same time that two other Turkish F-16's were harassing a Greek military helicopter that was transporting the Minister of National Defence Nikos Panagiotopoulos and General Konstantinos Floros around the Eastern Aegean islands of Oinousses and Agathonisi.
In the video, you can hear the Greek pilot say to a second pilot that "I have him," in reference to locking onto the Turkish F-16 jet he was chasing.
The footage shows the Turkish pilot who was violating Greek airspace making a desperate attempt to escape by erratically maneuvering. However, the Greek pilot of the Mirage puts the Turkish F-16 in shooting parameters and locks the opponent.
The dialogue in detail:
The video document uploaded to YouTube shows the following dialogue:
PILOT 1 : FOX 2 (VOLI AIM 2)
PILOT 2: I have him
PILOT 2: The other one is coming.
PILOT 2: I also recorded it on the tape
PILOT 1: Nice
PILOT 2: Stable in GUNS
PILOT 1: SAME
This has become a very usual and normal occurrence for Greek fighter pilots dealing with Turkish jets who violate Greek airspace on a daily basis. However, it is extremely rare for the Greek military to release such footage.
It is likely that the footage was released in response to the Turkish jets who harassed Panagiotopoulos and Floros, as reported by Greek City Times, and serves as a reminder why Greek pilots have won in consecutive years NATO's "Best Warrior" awards.
