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The Hellenic Air Force(HAF)(Greek: Πολεμική Αεροπορία (ΠΑ), Polemikí Aeroporía) is the air force of Greece. The mission of the Hellenic Air Force is to guard and protect the Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy as well as humanitarian aid (upon request) in Greece and around the world. During the period of monarchy (1935-1973) the force was known as the Hellenic Royal Air Force. The motto of the Hellenic Air Force is "Αίεν Υψικρατείν" meaning "Always Dominate the Heights" and the HAF ensign represents a flying eagle in front of the Hellenic Air Force roundel. The Hellenic Air Force is one of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The Hellenic Air Force is overseen by the Hellenic Ministry of National Defence, whose current head is minister Vangelis Meimarakis. More specifically, HAF is directly overseen by the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. The Hellenic Air Force includes approximately 33,000 active troops, of whom 11,750 are carrier officers, 14,000 are professional conscripts, 7,250 are volunteer conscripts and 1,100 are women. The three commands are the Tactical Air Command, headquartered at Larisa, the Air Support Command and the Air Training Command, both based in Athens. The Tactical Air Command includes eight Combat Wings and one Transport Wing. The Combat Wings have six fighter ground-attack squadrons. There are ten fighter squadrons, one regular reconnaissance squadron, and one marine reconnaissance squadron. Three transport squadrons and two helicopter squadrons form the organization of the air portion of the Tactical Air Command. The Air Training Command includes four training squadrons. The eight major H.A.F. installations are located in Larisa, Nea Ankhialos southeast of Larisa, Elefsis, west of Athens, Thessaloniki, Tanagra, north of Athens, Souda Bay, Araxos in the northern Peloponnese, and Andravida. Other airports supporting military operations are located in the Aegean Islands of Karpathos, Santorini (Thira), Rhodes, Skyros, and Lemnos as well as in Kavala, Heraklion, and Tatoi/Dekeleia, north of Athens. * Combat operations are overseen by the Chief of Operations of the Supreme Air Force Council. * Support services are managed by the Directorate of Aeronautical Support of the Air Force Support Command. * The training squadrons and air force schools, like the "Icarus Air Force Academy" and the "School of Advanced War Training", run by the Training Directorate of the Air Force Training Command. Greece participated in NATO "nuclear weapons sharing" until 2001, using A-7 Corsair IIs to deploy tactical B61 nuclear warheads from Araxos Air Base. Greece then strategically decided to remove all nuclear weapons under storage in Greece and did not purchace any more aircraft with nuclear mounting capabilities. f-4 phantom aup peace icarus In September 2004 started the Mirage 2000BG/EG fleet upgrade to the standard 2000-5 Mk2 and the project was undertaken by the French manufacturer Dassault and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry.Fifteen aircraft were ordered, while ten more were undertaken for upgrade by Dassault and EAB. The enhancements include upgraded radar and avionics, air-refueling capabilities, new self-defense system and upgraded engine, while the cockpit has taken some serious reforms. In 2005, Greece was among the first countries to add the F-16 Block 52+ to its inventory. Ninety of these 4.5th generation aircraft were ordered and delivery begun the same year. This advanced F-16 type is an improved version of the Block 50 featuring a more powerful radar, better communications systems and an upgraded engine. The Hellenic Air Force's Block 52+ belong to the 337, 340 and 343 Squadrons with call signs "Ghost", "Fox" and "Star" respectively. 337 SQ is based at Larissa Air Force Base (110 Combat Wing) and the other two in Souda AB (115 CW). In 2007, the Hellenic Air Force has a total fighter fleet of 275 modern or upgraded aircraft and due to retirement of units that have ended their circle of operation, is looking forward to acquiring new 4th, 4.5th or 5th generation fighters in order to reach a total number of 300 advanced fighters, according to the "2007 Supreme Air Force Council Momentum" published in 2007. Such goal is to be gradually reached until 2015. Prime candidates for a 4.5th or 5thgeneration aircraft, of which acquisition is considered certain, are the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II (JSF) and Dassault Rafale. extra tags ; mirage 2000 mirage 2000-5 f16 f-16 block 50 52 52+ 30 40 f-4 f-4e rf-4 f4 f4e rf4 phantom falcon viper a-7 a7 corsair dassault vought patriot s-300 osa tor sa-8 dogfight aegean haf hellenic air force greece greek army hellas vtr avtr hud jhmc cft tanks iris t iris-t aim-9 amraam mica bomb run napalm mk-84 scrable readiness

Category: Autos
Uploaded: June 1st, 2008 @ 2:15 am
Author: HellenicAirForce

Length: 04:47
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Tags: a7 aegean air corsair dogfight f-16 f4 falcon force greece haf hellas hellenic iaf mirage phantom tuaf usaf viper

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