Ankara should not underestimate the capabilities of the Greek Air Force, retired Turkish General Erdoğan Karakuş said on live television, setting Turkish social media alight.
During his intervention during a TV show on CNN Türk about the crisis in the eastern Mediterranean, the retired three-star general and head of the Turkish Retired Officers Association, mentioned, among other things, the exceptional capabilities of the Greek Air Force.
With his statements, Karakuş made a great impression and provoked reactions on Turkish social media.
He made a major speech on the TV show on the crisis in the eastern Mediterranean and said:
"Greece should not be taken lightly at all. Do you know why? In 1974 [Turkish invasion of Cyprus] Greece was incomparably weaker than Turkey. But after 1974, the body in which it invested the most was the Air Force. And today Greece has incredible attacking abilities. Watch this. I repeat: They has the ability to attack Turkey and do not underestimate that at all."
He himself stressed the fighting spirit of the Greek Air Force that can reach deep into the Turkish hinterland and attack the capital city of Angora (Ἄγκυρα, Turkish: Ankara) and even as far as Sevasteia (Σεβάστεια: Turkish: Sivas).
https://twitter.com/thedukeoriginal/status/1295798453671546888
Retired Turkish Vice General Hüseyin Hakkı Kahveci expressed the same position as Karakuş by posting on his personal Twitter account.
"Greece is not old Greece. The air force is strong. Greek warplanes can come to Ankara and hit our defense industry facilities." Retired Air Lieutenant General Erdoğan Karakuş just said this on CNN Türk. The Greek Air Force is not what it used to be. They are almost superior," he said on Twitter.
" Yunanistan eski Yunanistan değil. Hava kuvvetleri güçlü. Yunan Savaş uçakları Ankara'ya kadar gelip Savunma sanayi tesislerimizi vurabilir."
E. Hava Korgeneral Erdoğan Karakuş, CNN Türk 'te biraz önce söyledi. Yunanistan hava kuvvetleri eskisi gibi değil .Neredeyse üstünler.— Atabey Hüseyin Hakkı Kahveci (@hhakkikahveci) August 16, 2020
Although Kahveci's words are more sensible then his current peers, he still falls short of truthfulness by saying the Greek Air Force is "almost superior."
Greek pilots for consecutive years in a row have been given the honour of "best pilot of NATO" awards.
Back in May, C.W. Lemoine, an aviation expert, watched a video of a Greek and Turkish jet dog fighting each other and said “Good on the Hellenic Air Force pilot, he basically converted high to low, and owned him," adding that the Turkish pilot is “making my Viper look bad” and that “it’s just embarrassing," as reported by Greek City Times.
