For ten days over Greece and the Mediterranean Sea, the Greek and Indian Air Forces will conducted joint training exercises with Su-30, F-16, and Rafale fighter jets. This will happen in the context of the annual Greek exercise Iniochos 23.
According to Bulgarian Military, the exercise is being conducted under the leadership of the Greek Air Force and the Greek Air Tactics Center of the Ministry of Defense. Training starts on April 18th and ends on April 28th.
India and Greece continue to develop their good defense cooperation. The Indian Air Force will send five Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jets to take part in the exercise.
It is expected to fly and perform complex missions of the air forces of Greece and the Mediterranean. The main objective is to improve joint operational capability.
Greece will use the backbone of its Air Force – F-16 and Rafale fighter jets – in the exercise. They, along with their Indian counterparts, will provide conditional support to the land and sea forces that will also be involved in the exercise.
Iniochos 23 is an annual Greek study. It includes live flying. During these flights, the participating aircraft go through the full range of missions in complex operational and congested environments.
These flights include a countermeasure against a ground-based air defense system, through its identification and conditional engagement. Indian and Greek pilots are also expected to jointly attack enemy ground positions accompanied by effective combat search and rescue.
For years, this Greek teaching has been one of the most attractive in Europe and the Balkans. All involved are subjected to an intense combat rhythm. It is accompanied by numerous scenarios and tactics in the air and on the ground. Missions are completed in real-time.
In this way, participating Air Forces in the exercise build joint operational capabilities, building a strong and sustainable force.
The involvement of the Indian Air Force should not be surprising. In 2020, to respond to the newly inflamed Turkey-Pakistan axis, India and Greece signed an agreement for joint cooperation in the field of both military production and joint military training.
In 2020, Turkey opened several fronts around itself. This included Libya, Syria, and Nagorno-Karabakh. Pakistan supported Turkish efforts and this worried Greece, whose proxy conflict with the Turks has been going on for decades.
Turkish President Erdogan’s nationalistic remarks were also taken into account in Athens.
All this reached a logical conclusion to deepen the military cooperation between India and Greece. Particular emphasis is placed on the fact that the two countries are expected to exchange experience, know-how, and technology in military production.
Then the Greek media exclaimed that these were new opportunities opening up in the Balkan country.
According to military analysts, the alliance between Turkey and Pakistan has given Turkey a slight advantage over Greece in its contradictions. But Athens’ decision to seek a partner in New Delhi is the right answer and restores balance to the region.
BulgarianMilitary.com recalls that it is Turkey’s attitude towards Turkey that is one of the reasons why Ankara has not yet received permission to purchase F-16 Block 70 fighter jets.
Washington wants to emphasize that it will not allow the sale of fighter jets that would violate the sovereignty of the Greek state, or at least would continue with the almost monthly violation of Greek airspace.
India, for its part, continues to develop the operational combat readiness of its Su-30MKI air backbone. The presence of the Indian Su-30s in Greece will not be the first international participation.
In mid-January this year, India sent four of its fighter jets to fly alongside Japanese F-15s in joint exercises. This exercise was the first “international tour” of the Indian Su-30 and was followed with great interest.
READ MORE: Greece Rejects Pakistan's Request For Submarine Batteries.
