Turkish F-16 fighter jets have reportedly violated Greek air space whilst at the same time disrupting the multinational military NATO exercise INIOHOS in the south Aegean Sea according to Greek media.
According to reports, the Turkish fighter jets entered Greek airspace illegally and in an area that had been blocked with air and naval directives, a NOTAM and a NAVTEX for the NATO exercise.
The incident took place East of the island of Karpathos at 11:15 a.m. on Tuesday, March 29, 2022.
As a result of the Turkish provocation, the Spanish NATO commander was forced to suspend interrupt the exercise which later prompted an internal NATO investigation.
“INIOCHOS” is an annual medium scale exercise (type INVITEX) based on the facilities of the Air Tactics Centre at the Andravida Air Base, located in the Northwest Peloponnese.
The duration of the exercise is 15 calendar days and operations make use of the majority of Athens FIR. The exercise scenario adopts a Single Base Concept (execution of operations from a single Air Base), with the participation of all branches of the Armed Forces.
Since the first INVITEX in 2015, INIOCHOS has attracted participation from USAFE, Israel Defence Forces, the United Arab Emirates Air Force, and the Italian Air Force and with increasing interest for participation by other countries.
Given the high level of the HAF personnel and their capability to conduct exercises, involving a variety of weapon systems within one of the largest exercise areas in Europe, «INIOCHOS» aspires to become the most competitive exercise in Europe and the Mediterranean region, and provide participants with a high level of training and unique experience of participation.
