Rafales rule the roost

he latest six Dassault Rafales

Thave taken to the skies over Greece as its Air Force takes delivery of the newest aircraft in its arsenal. The delivery represents a consolidation of the relationship between the country and the French aerospace company that extends nearly half a century.

In the mid-1970s the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) was modernized with deliveries of the Dassault Mirage F1CG fleet. At the same time, Vought A-7 Corsair IIs and McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs were flying under Greek roundels.

In March 1985, the Greek government announced the purchase of 36 F-16C/D Block 30s. In the same month Greece ordered 36 single-seat Mirage 2000EGs and four two-seat Mirage 2000BGs. The first Mirages 2000EG/BG aircraft were delivered to the 114th Combat Wing at

Tanagra Air Base (AB) and equipped the 331 and 332 Miras (Squadrons). In September 2004, Greece decided to upgrade all its existing Mirages 2000 to Mirages 2000-5F (Mk 2) standard and order 15 new Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2s.

In August 2020, Greece announced the acquisition of 18 of France’s new F3-R standard Rafale multi-role fighters to replace an equal number of older Mirage 2000EGMs that had not been previously upgraded to the Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 version. Finally, in January 2021, the official agreement with Dassault Aviation was ratified in parliament, bringing the purchase of six newly built and 12 ex-Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (AAE, French Air and Space Force) F-3R versions, costing €2.4bn, including their armament and follow-on support.

In June 2021, Dassault Aviation released the pictures of Greece’s first Rafale F3-Rs, bearing the HAF roundel and fin flash. The first aircraft was delivered to Greece in July. The aircraft were commissioned to 332 Mira ‘Geraki (Hawk)’, which previously operated Mirage 2000EGM/BGM jets.

At the Thessaloniki International Fair on September 11, 2021, the Greek Prime Minister announced the purchase of six additional Rafales, bringing the total number ordered to 24.

Above: An echelon formation maneuver is flown by two HAF-operated Rafale EGs, (serials 410 and 412), which are joined by a Hellenic Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 All Images Katsuhiko Tokunaga/Dact, Inc.

The home base

Tanagra AB (ICAO: LGTG) is located 25 miles north of Athens and is adjacent to Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI). It is the home base of the 114th Combat Wing.

From World War Two until the early 1950s, Tanagra AB was used as a complementary airfield. After that period, and with a NATO contribution, it was upgraded to a main air base. From 1975 to 2003, the Mirage F1CGs were operated from Tanagra. Commissioned in 2007, the newly acquired Mirage 2000-5s are operated by 331 Mira ‘Aegeas’.

Since 2017, Tanagra AB has been the venue of the annual Athens Flying Week air show, held in September each year.

On January 19, 2022, 332 Mira received its first six Dassault Rafale F3-R fighters and retired its aging Mirage 2000EG/BG fighters in a ceremony held by the HAF. These first six Rafales are former AAE aircraft (refurbished to F3-R standard) and consisting of four single-seat Rafale EGs and two dual-seat Rafale DGs.

With this first contract completed in only four months and rapidly implemented, Greek pilots and technicians are now training daily in the use of the weapons associated with the aircraft – the Mica air-to-air missile or the new Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM), as well as the Exocet anti-ship missiles already integrated on Mirage 2000-5F Mk2s or SCALP air-launched cruise missiles.

In addition to the first six aircraft delivered in January – after being brought up to Greek standards following a short stay in the AAE’s inventory – the next six deliveries will take place before the end of 2022. Comprising four new single-seat aircraft and two new two-seat aircraft, two of the latter are already undergoing flight tests in Bordeaux, where they are being built on Dassault’s production lines.

The 18 aircraft in the first contract will all be delivered by the summer of 2023: two Rafale DGs and four Rafale EGs, already in place at Tanagra; two new Rafale DGs and four new Rafale EGs; and six second-hand Rafale EGs.

On March 24, 2022, the Greek Defence Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos and his French counterpart Florence Parly,

Below: A Greek Rafale EG (serial 412) banks 90° while on a training sortie

LATEST HELLENIC AIR FORCE RAFALES TYPE CURRENT SERIAL FORMER SERIAL

Rafale EG

Rafale EG 410

411 Former AAE serial 102, coded '30-EF'. Used to fly at Mont-de-Marsan AB, France Former serial number unknown

Rafale EG

Rafale EG

Rafale DG

Rafale DG 412

413

201

202 Former serial number unknown

Former serial number unknown

Former AAE serial 305, coded '4-EC'. Used to fly at St Dizier-Robinson AB, France Former AAE serial 306. Used to fly at Mont-de-Marsan AB, France

Right: 332 Mira ‘Geraki (Hawk)’ received its first six F3-R standard Dassault Rafale DG/ EG fighters and retired its aging Dassault Mirages 2000EG/BGs in a ceremony held by the HAF on January 19, 2022

Below: In August 2020, Greece announced the acquisition of 18 Rafale multi-role aircraft with the new French F3-R standard to replace an equal number of older Mirage 2000EGMs together with Eric Trappier, CEO of Dassault Aviation, signed a contract for an additional six Rafales, bringing the total to 24 – with deliveries scheduled for completion by the end of 2024.

HAF personnel quickly took charge of their new aircraft. It must be emphasized that Greece is a very old customer of French aeronautical productions, so much so that the country was represented in the traditional Bastille Day air parade on the Champs-Elysées in Paris on July 14 this year. Opened by the nine Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jet Es of the Patrouille de France aerobatic team in ‘big nine’ formation, the parade included two Greek Rafales that conducted a flypast in the sky police ‘spotlight’, in addition to the German, Spanish, Belgian and French Airbus A400M Atlas and Franco-German and Italian-operated Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules in a demonstration of the strengthening of the European defense identity.

The HAF’s Greek name in Roman script is Polemiki Aeroporia, which translates as War Aviation. It is one of the largest NATO air forces and is globally 18th out of 139 countries. It is also noted for its highly skilled pilots, annually benchmarked in international exercises such as NATO Tiger Meet in May on Araxos AB, Greece. The HAF includes around 33,000 active troops, comprising 11,750 career officers, 14,000 volunteer conscripts – of which 1,100 are women. In English, the motto of the HAF is ‘Always Dominate the Heights’ and the Air Force emblem represents a flying eagle in front of the HAF roundel.