Hellenic Air Force

Some conclusions are reportedly emerging from an administrative inquiry (EDE) confirming that the explosions at the ammo depot on a Hellenic Air Force base last Friday in central Greece were caused by the general-purpose air-to-ground bombs (iron bombs) stored in above-ground facilities that were exposed to the heat load of the wildfire that was raging in the vicinity. 

The 111th Combat Wing at Nea Anchialos, near the city of Volos in central Greece, is considered one of the Hellenic Air Force's jewels in the crown. The wing's base is home to nearly half of Greece's F-16 fighters, specifically 70 out of 154. It is multi-mission, with squadrons specializing in interception, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), attack and advanced training.

The Hellenic Air Force has begun to gradually move its F-16s stationed at the Nea Anchialos Air Base as wildfires have begun to threaten the base itself.

The flames have already engulfed parts of the town of Nea Anchialos and earlier they triggered a series of major explosions at the air base's ammunition dump.

The wildfires raging on the islands of Rhodes, Evia, Corfu and several locations in mainland Greece caused the first human casualties Tuesday.

Two Greek Air Force pilots died on the island of Evia when a Canadair CL-215 firefighting plane crashed near the town of Karystos shortly after 2 p.m., an Air Force spokesman announced.

The first upgraded F-16 Viper of the Hellenic Air Force is returning to Greece following 2.5 years of exhaustive testing at the US Air Force aerospace facility in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Turkish and Greek navies have joined a NATO maritime exercise in the eastern Mediterranean amid a visible improvement in ties between the two neighboring states who have recently been at odds over overlapping territorial claims in the Aegean and Mediterranean.

The American commitment to reinforce Greece with fifth-generation fighter jets, along with the sale of a number of more sophisticated F-16s, is indicative, at least for now, of Washington's wish to maintain a certain balance of air power in the Aegean.

Aircraft from the United States Air Force (USAF) and the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) conducted aerial refueling drills on June 20.

The Hellenic Air Force participated with 50 flights by F-16 fighter jets with two KC-135s of the 134 Refueling Wing of the USAF based with the 110 HAF Combat Wing at the Larissa military airport.

The Hellenic Air Force General Staff announced that four military transport aircraft will fly over the Acropolis on Tuesday morning between 9.10 a.m. and 9.40 a.m. Specifically, there will be 2 C-130J of the United States Air Force assigned to the USAFE-AFAFRICA missions, accompanied by a C-130 and a C-27 of the Hellenic Air Force.

Sixteen Greek nationals, a Cypriot, nine Romanians and 8 Finns have landed on board a Hellenic Air Force transport aircraft at Tanagra air base following their evacuation from Sudan via Jordan and Djibouti.

The C-27J Spartan transport carrier, which landed shortly after 4 p.m. on Wednesday, contained several children.