U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles and Hellenic air force F-16s flew a combined 270 missions during two weeks of NATO training at Souda Air Base, Greece.
The 494th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, known as the Mighty Black Panthers, departed Royal Air Force Lakenheath, , Feb. 13, to work alongside the pilots of the HAF’s 343rd Squadron at the 115th Combat Wing on the Greek island of Crete.
“This has been a unique opportunity for us to exercise and evaluate our aircraft and personnel in a NATO training environment,” said Lt. Col. Philip Principi, the 494th EFS commander. “We’ve been able to challenge ourselves daily during large-force exercises consisting of up to 30 aircraft — six different air frames from four different bases.”
“We’ve been able to share tactics, techniques and procedures in the planning, execution and debrief; which will continue to build the tactical partnership between our two countries,” Principi said. “With key training opportunities like this one, we gain the experience of flying together, and we’re better prepared to execute a successful, tactical game plan.”
This is the first time in more than 10 years that the HAF has hosted a flying training deployment of this size. For Greek and U.S. pilots, working together brought new philosophies to the table, despite the language barrier and difference in aircraft.
Bilateral training deployments like this one in Greece are planned in advance to strengthen military-to-military relationships and increase NATO interoperability.
“Training starts from the briefing,” Danias said. “The (F-16) Block 52+ is multirole, just like the F-15. We try to show how we (F-16s) protect, while the Eagles strike.”
While aircrew and aircraft were key to the overall mission, Airmen from the 48th Maintenance Group made up the majority of the 260 personnel on the U.S. side of training operations in Greece.
The 494th EFS’ headquarters, the 48th Fighter Wing, also recently sent aircraft to participate in allied training or support air policing operations in Norway, Iceland, Lithuania and Spain.
While aircrew and aircraft were key to the overall mission, Airmen from the 48th Maintenance Group made up the majority of the 260 personnel on the U.S. side of training operations in Greece.
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