AIR PELOPENNESE

Odysseus over the Pelopennese

Ian Harding reports from Andravida AB on the latest

Hellenic Air Force weapons school

Elite or Top Gun-style training captures the imagination of

everyone associated with fast jets. Many global air arms have
established dedicated facilities to train their frontline fighter
pilots and in this respect, the Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia
(Hellenic Air Force or HAF) is at the top of its game. At the end
of August each year, Andravida AB is the location for busy flight
operations by some of the most talented pilots in Greece.
Why Andravida?...because it is the home of the HAF Scholio
Oplon Taktikis (SOT or Fighter Weapons School). Pilots attend
the school to take the weapons instructor course which is
designed to develop their tactical thinking and test their ability
to undertake complex missions under the watchful eye of its
dedicated team of instructor and test pilots. A primary
objective for the school and this particular course is to teach
our pilots how to apply air power effectively. Every pilot here is
experienced and a mission leader. It is important our pilots
have the opportunity to work closely with their colleagues,
learn to understand their roles and philosophy and having
received an ATO [Air Tasking Order], learn how to incorporate
different assets into a COMAO [Combined Air Operation];
explained Lt Col Ioannis Kyriou; SOT Commander.
Kyriou, an instructor pilot, is a graduate of the prestigious
Empire Test Pilot School (ETPS) at Boscombe Down in the UK
and is one of four test pilots assigned to the Flight Test
Department (FTD) within the HAF Kentro Aeroporikis Taktikis
(KEAT or Centre for Air Tactics).

Centre of Excellence
Located approximately 300km (186 miles) west of Athens in
the Pelopennese area of Greece, Andravida has a unique
structure with two Air Force Wings based there. F-4E AUP-
equipped No.117 Combat Wing comprising 338 and 339
Squadrons, and the KEAT.
Established in 1983, KEAT plays a pivotal role within the
Hellenic Tactical Air Force (HTAF) Command structure
providing a centre of knowledge for modern aerial warfare,
tactics and advanced training, and assisting the on-going
development and evolution of HAF capabilities which includes
aircraft systems and weapons testing. KEAT and the SOT also
fulfil an important role providing a direct interface between
the operational squadrons and Tactical Command HQ based at
Larissa AB, in northern Greece.
A number of systems were evaluated and tested during the
latest course were testing of the FLIR (forward looking infrared)
system on a pair of Army CH-47SD Chinooks and the self
protection system integrated on Mirage 2000EGM and Mirage
2000-5 fighters present but no results were made available.
When the SOT or Fighter Weapons School was formed on June
25, 1975, it represented an evolutionary response to the
enormous upgrade and re-armament programme underway in
the HAF, which started during the early 1970s and has
continued almost unabated since. A programme was urgently
required to develop air tactics and train pilots how to employ
new types like the A-7 Corsair, Mirage F1 and F-4 Phantom to
help bridge the gap between the older second generation
fighters such as the F-84 Thunderstreak and F-104 Starfighter
and the more capable new types.
SOTs role remains just as important today. Developing the
skills and aerial tactics necessary to incorporate a slow mover
like the rugged A-7 into a COMAO alongside the latest
platforms is one of the many challenges crews face and the
SOT aids this process. With tensions in the Aegean remaining
constantly high, there is no room for complacency and the SOT
helps meet this challenge head-on.
Whilst the primary goal for SOT is to improve each pilots
tactical thinking, perhaps one of its greatest aims is to promote
tactical innovation. Provided safety is not compromised, the
school provides aircrew with an opportunity to try new tactics
something they would not normally have a chance to do.

Fighter Weapon School Course

Training activity at Andravida rarely slows and each year four
primary aircrew training courses take place; two for fast jets
(one is the FWS course), one for helicopters and another for
COMAO leaders.
The timetable ensures the Schools instructor pilots, each with
experience in at least one fast jet type, remain very busy.
Selection to attend the FWS is undoubtedly an achievement in
itself - just one pilot or crew is selected from each squadron
every year.
Operational experience is key to selection and four-ship leader
is a pre-requisite qualification and most pilots have in excess of
500 flying hours. Whatever their operational experience there
is still much to learn as Captain George Androulakis an IP and
F-16 Block 52+ pilot with 343 Squadron explained. Pilots
coming here are very experienced in one role and their primary
objective is to learn what its like to consider other roles. You
may be a bomber but to manage a COMAO you have to
understand how other pilots flying high value assets plan and
think such as suppression of enemy air defences using HARM
missiles. You may feel you can say do this and that when
planning a COMAO but ultimately its about understanding what
can and cant be done.

Course Structure
Weeks 1-4 comprises class room theory covering air-to-air, air-
to-ground, ground-based air defence, general management and
COMAO planning including the execution of an ATO. This
concludes with four one hour exams. Students also produce a
paper on a chosen subject which accounts for approximately
40% of the total evaluation.
Weeks 5-16 comprise 20-25 sorties encompassing tactical
elements of dissimilar air combat training, low-level flying,
close air support, tactical support for maritime operations
referred to as TASMO all of which accounts for 60% of the
evaluation. Each student works up to very complex formations
employing a full COMAO at the end of the course. Each flight,
assessed by the instructor pilot in consultation with the aircrew,
is graded out of 100. Crews can fly unfamiliar roles if they wish
and their grading will reflect this.
Successful graduation as an instructor qualifies the pilot as a
mission commander or package leader, whilst those completing
the course as a graduate must return to Andravida to pass one
of the annual two-week COMAO leadership courses. These are
broadly similar to the NATO Tactical Leadership Programme
held at Los Llanos-Albacete AB in Spain.
Week 1 is the theory phase covering general principles of
COMAO planning and force composition analysis considering for
example how to integrate different types including slow movers
into a strike package.
Week 2 is the practical phase and covers ATO analysis,
planning and execution. The ATO itself is a detailed operational
plan which directs each mission. During the execution of the
ATO students will rotate to ensure they cover each position
within the COMAO. Each student is given an ATO from which
they then devise an appropriate plan. We are looking for each
individual to fulfil all the required theoretical prerequisites in
order to become an efficient mission commander, explained Lt
Col Kyriou.
During the single, one-month helicopter course, pilots from the
Hellenic Army, Navy and Air Force receive theoretical and
practical training comprising seven sorties. For Apache pilots
practical training includes learning to fight against fast jets.
In addition, aircrew are taught about the capabilities and
tactics to employ against a variety of airborne and GBAD assets
which are then tested during the practical phase.
Last years course was larger than usual involving every Air
Force tactical squadron, two Army CH-47SD Chinooks and one
Navy S-70B Aegean Hawk. Twenty-eight HAF fixed wing
aircraft took part comprising 16 F-16s, four F-4E AUPs, one RF-
4E, two Mirage 2000-EGMs, two Mirage 2000-5s, two TA-7C
Corsair IIs and one Embraer 145H AEW&C. In addition to the
students on the course, intelligence officers, flight engineers
from each squadron and air controllers were involved.

Executing a COMAO
Once an ATO is received, the pressure is on. Aircrew must
interpret the tasking and achieve the maximum effect from it.
Structure and ultimate execution of the COMAO is vital if
course objectives are to be met.
Instructor pilots are embedded into the mission primarily as
observers although they will assist if asked or if they feel safety
could be compromised, otherwise the course students work on
their own.
Based on past experience, instructor pilots expect aircrew to
use a combination of familiar and some less familiar tactics to
integrate all of the types into the COMAO to achieve mission
objectives and their own. Lt Col Kyrio told AIR International:
Our aim is to improve the connection between the human and
tactical side. To take an ATO, visualise the scenario, figure
out the operational requirements of Tactical Command and
translate these into tactical mission objectives before factoring
in their own personal objectives is a major ordeal that can
bring its own problems.
We want to take the pilot out of the flying and see how they
can best exploit or get the maximum out of the ATO
irrespective of the aircraft they are flying. Whilst the flying
makes the pilot, some aircraft are clearly better technically
than others. Everyone here has the chance to become a
member of the Club of Aces and to do so they have to be
interested in the tactical thought process not just the flying and
the technical capabilities of their own aircraft. As a COMAO
leader you can fly an F-16 Block 52+ or an A-7 but can you co-
ordinate a plan for everyone? Our aim is to keep our guys
thinking. Results will be better if you can teach guys to go
outside their comfort zone and overcome their fears, added
the SOT boss.
Despite the capability differences between the various types
involved, speaking with the author during the 2010 course,
aircrew confirmed their belief in the philosophy and structure of
the course. Capt Kostas Anthoulakis, an F-16 pilot with 343
Squadron explained: Innovation is important in a tactical
sense but not if safety is compromised. We can go one step
further here and try things we would only try at the school.

Combined Air Ops

One mission flown during the authors visit to SOT involved 22
but each one varies greatly and involves different taxi and
launch patterns consistent with the allocation of aircraft to the
roles of offensive or defensive counter air (OCA or DCA), and
expected times-on-target.
Orchestration of the first COMAO flown on November 1, 2010
represented a huge task and therefore students were given
four days to plan it. As the course progresses, students receive
less time to plan and brainstorm building up to a point where
the ATO is issued at 0800 on the morning of the mission which
is flown at 1400.
Each COMAO has a mission commander or package leader and
element leaders such as force protection (FP). This is their
chance to plan a COMAO by themselves so we want them to try
things even if it is unconventional. If it can be flown safely they
can do it. In this respect there is no comparison between what
pilots do here and at a TLP. Here they will fly missions which
are more diverse in an area with fewer limits; they can fly high,
low, supersonic, whatever they want, extolled Lt Col Kyriou
who continued: We aim to give students a wide range of
missions during which they can fly their primary roles;
interception, strike, bombing, just as they would within their
squadron but they can reverse roles if they are multi role. For
students, the most demanding missions are CSAR [Combat
Search and Rescue] where we include Army personnel. Here
they will be tested against anti-aircraft fire in a high threat
environment. Repatriation against GBAD is very demanding.
Not only is the threat high, pilots within the strike package;
usually those flying the F-16, have a lot of information to
manage. They must make all the connections and suppress the
GBAD. Missions over sea have their own difficulties. With a
TASMO you will generally have a lot of assets; aircraft and
ships, plus demanding air superiority for the OCA aircraft. Our
TASMO includes a Navy frigate and there will be other ships
which students know they cannot control. This will make things
tricky as the frigate will use commercial ships as cover and our
pilots will have to deal with any SAMs whilst considering
collateral damage. Our Embraer [145H AEW&C] will co-ordinate
air traffic; seeing everything provides a huge tactical
advantage.
Capt Dimitrios Nikolopoulos, a Mirage 2000-5 (referred to as a
Dash 5) pilot from 331 Squadron at Tanagra discussed a
COMAO prior to debrief: I have received many ATOs but they
have never involved this variety of aircraft. I was the leader of
FP on Tuesday. I had to ask some things as you only have a
short time to plan and execute the ATO. My package was a
three-ship FP; two Dash-5 plus one F-16 Block 30, two F-16
Block 50/52+ and eleven strikers; F-16s, F-4Es, an RF-4E and
TA-7Cs.
Others were defending an area and our job was not to allow
aircraft to go under or over the FP to find targets. In the Dash
5 we have a data link which makes it easier to execute our
game plan. Knowing where the other guys are, is crucial and
the same applies for the F-16M with Link 16. Others dont have
these systems so I have to understand what they can and
cannot do. It is important I position them to protect their role.
The biggest challenge for us all is to open our minds tactically.
Helicopters are often utilised and Lt Tsiros Theodore, one of
two Navy S-70B pilots confirmed their role. Our time on
station was around one and a half hours and our primary role
was to deploy EW [electronic warfare] measures and to
determine the positions of the GBAD stations which we relayed
to our strike package of F-16s. Our aircraft provides EOB
[electronic order of battle] and Naval OB [Naval order of battle]
in order to build our SURPIC [surface picture] report so attacks
can be made. We also manage and locate the positions of
commercial shipping which the Eli-class frigate may use to
defend its position. Normally we would undertake ASW [anti-
submarine warfare].

Technology Driven, Historical Ethos

Advances in technology used in the latest HAF weapon systems
drives continuous evolution of the weapon instructor course
and increases the complexity of all mission systems. The
introduction of Link 16 data links and the Embraer 145H
AEW&C has provided the HAF with new capabilities.
No.380 Squadron based at Elefsina sent one Embraer 145H
AEW&C to participate in the COMAO stage of the course.
Embraer 145H pilot Major Leonidas Karanatsis told AIR
International: On average our missions last around six to
seven hours but COMAO missions here [at Andravida] are
shorter lasting around three to four hours. No.380 Squadron
has one student attending the AEW&C course contained within
the [main] FWS course. Having set off ahead of the main
packages, we orbit the area setting up our sensors. Erieye can
perform a range of missions including ELINT [electronic
intelligence], providing a picture of the mission area, data
exchange via data link and voice plus controlling fighters and
other support available during joint operations like this.
Controlling the sky provides a considerable tactical advantage.
To communicate, we use Link 16 but only with the Advanced F-
16M. The Block 52+ has a similar IDM [improved data modem]
whilst the Dash-5 also has a dedicated link system which has
interoperability with both F-16 systems. Erieye communicates
with them [other players in the strike package] by voice.
Overall, the picture in the air is vastly improved now, following
the introduction of the Erieye.
SOT uses Odysseus for its radio call sign. In Greek mythology
Odysseus was the King of Ithaca and known for his guile and
resourcefulness. Odysseus is famous for his part in the Trojan
War and the wooden horse used by the Greeks to tactically
deceive the Trojans that ended a ten-year siege of the city of
Troy and the war. The term Trojan Horse is used to describe a
deceptive strategy and a suitable symbol for the schools patch
to symbolise its training ethos, one that is based on deceptive
and unpredictable tactics, in concert with standardisation of
methods and procedures.
KEAT the Centre for Air Tactics and the SOT, its Fighter
Weapons School, have made a huge contribution to the Hellenic
Air Force across a wide range of areas since the school was
established 35 years ago. The 2010 weapons instructor course
concluded after 16 weeks and ten COMAOs in mid-December
with the majority of the pilots graduating as instructors. One
way in which the SOT and its training ethos play a vital part in
the evolution of the Hellenic Air Force.

Table 1
2010 Course Participants
Unit Base Type No Roles
330 Squadron Nea Anghialos F-16 Block 30 2 A2A, A2G
331 Squadron Tanagra Mirage 2000-5 2 A2A
332 Squadron Tanagra Mirage 2000EGM 2 A2A, A2G
335 Squadron Araxos F-16 Block 52+ (F-16M) 2 A2G,
A2A
336 Squadron Araxos TA-7C Corsair 2 A2G, TASMO
337 Squadron Larissa F-16 Block 52+ 2 A2A, A2G
338 Squadron Andravida F-4E AUP 2 A2A
339 Squadron Andravida F-4E AUP 2 A2A, A2G
340 Squadron Souda Bay F-16 Block 52+ 2 A2A,
A2G
341 Squadron Nea Anghialos F-16 Block 50 2 A2A, SEAD
343 Squadron Souda Bay F-16 Block 52+ 2 A2A,
SEAD
346 Squadron Larissa F-16 Block 30 2 A2G
347 Squadron Nea Anghialos F-16 Block 50 2 A2A, A2G
348 Squadron Larissa RF-4E 1 Tactical
Reconnaissance
380 Squadron Elefsina Embraer 145H AEW&C 1 AEW
Hellenic Navy 2 Squadron Kotroni S-70B 1
Hellenic Army 4 TEAS Megara CH-47SD 2

Key
Air Interdiction (AI) is the use of aircraft to attack tactical
ground targets that are not in close proximity to friendly
ground forces.
Ground Assisted Air Interdiction (GAAI) is air interdiction
flown deep into enemy territory in collaboration with
Special Forces who provide high value target identification
and designation.