After Action Report: Simulation 2019 Chasing Aphrodite

The Hellenic Airforce (HAF) has the mission of protecting not only the Greek but also the Cypriot Airspace if asked by Cyprus’s government

After the release of the Beta version of the simulation scenario in CMANO 2019: Chasing Aphrodite (detailed description with the participating forces from both sides and some political insight, better read this first to have a broader view) we gave the chance for various users to send their feedback towards a Combined Air Operation south of Cyprus.

The main goal of this scenario is to reveal the strengths and weaknesses of both , Hellenic and Turkish Airforce, operating in a region inside the Cypriot Exclusive Economic Zone, dozens of miles south of the island. The main target is a possible future Sea Drilling Platform known as Fatih (The Conqueror, given the same name with the current Sea Exploration Drilling ship Fatih operated by Turkish Petroleum Corporation, TPAO) which might violate Cypriot EEZ and start drilling operations and oil extraction.

The operation can be divided into 6 phases:

Phase 0: Recon/SIGINT Operation, gathering Intelligence about the composition of the Turkish fleet south of Cyprus and also the presence of the Turkish Airforce around it

Phase 1: Offensive Counter Air (OCA), clearing the sky before the strike packages get close to the target area

Italy May Stop F-35 Orders at 13 Aircraft (!)

By Giovanni de Briganti

PARIS — If it goes through with its decision not to buy any additional Lockheed F-35 fighters, Italy stands to save as much as $13 billion which it could use, like Germany, to buy additional Eurofighters to replace its Tornado strike aircraft and still have money left over to spend on the welfare programs that are the priority of its new government.

Elisabetta Trenta, the new defense minister who took office in June, said during an interview broadcast by “La 7” television (in Italian) on July 6 that “Certainly, we won’t buy any more F-35s – I can guarantee that, and I am emphasizing it now because some people have written the opposite.”

However, Trenta also said Italy was “assessing what to do regarding the contracts already in place,” and evaluating whether to maintain its orders or to stretch them out over a longer period. Italy will weigh the program’s benefits in terms of technology, employment and turnover before coming to a decision, “because it could cost us more to cancel than to continue.”

Contradiction or misunderstanding?

2019: Chasing Aphrodite

Our site is releasing a TASMO simulation against a strong Turkish Naval Surface Attack Group south of Cyprus.

This is the final version of the requested scenario by our facebook page fans

(Check https://www.facebook.com/defencegreece/)

Special Thanks to Zaharias Tzamargias for its contribution during the development of the scenario !

Description

Date: 30 September 2019

Since the events of June 2018 when the Turkish offshore Drilling ship with the name Conqueror arrived in Attaleia port, the combined Greek-Cypriot Forces have been on High Alert.

During the following months the turkish naval presence was limited around the Turkish shores. But after the political instability in Greece due to parliamentary elections (2019), the Turkish Navy has vastly expanded its activity in the sea area south of Cyprus, Eastern Med. A long period of tension between the three countries (Cyprus, Greece and Turkey) over the disputed offshore oil reserves of Cyprus (once a home the the mythical Goddess Aphrodite) seems to be reaching a flashpoint.

Greece releases RFI for new heavy torpedoes (!)

A U-212 of the Italian Navy at bay during reloading of Black Shark torpedoes

The Hellenic Navy released a Request for Information Letter asking various companies for technical insight at aqcuiring heavy class 533 mm torpedoes and integrating them to the U-214 and U-209 AIP (Okeanos) submarines.

Greece upgrades 85 F-16 to the Viper level, partially financed by the USA !

Greece finally has given the green light for the F-16 Upgrade program to start!

Greece on 30th of April 2018 singed the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) for the Viper Upgrade program, after a decision was made during the Saturday’s (28 April) last-minute KYSEA (Goverment Council on Defense and Foreign Policy). It took almost 6 months of negotiations between the Greek Goverment and the USAF (which is the prime guarantor for the progress and supervision of the Upgrade Program) until a contract was signed to upgrade 85 of the 154 F-16 to the latest Block 70/72 Viper variant. Total cost of the program is around 1.45 billion $.

2018 Aegean in Flames: A concert of Harpoons and Exocets

Scalp EG is one of the few strategic assets in the Greek Arsenal that can tip the balance

 

Following the last week’s hot incident, when a Patrol ship of the Turkish Coast Guard intentionally managed to ram a Greek Patrol ship near IMIA islands, the possibility of armed conflict rises. During the collision, the OPV 90 Gaydos had suffered serious damage in the rear of its hull. This combined with the fact that the Turkish navy prohibited an Italian Offshore Drilling Ship belonging to ENI, to conduct research drills inside Cyprus Exclusive Economic Zone, raises a rather unfriendly situation between Greece and Turkey.

A possible armed event in the following months is highly anticipated. In this article we would try to simulate a possible Greek Armed Response to Turkey’s ambition to control the Aegean and Cyprus oil Reserves in Eastern Med.

Cyprus unveiling new «secret» Air Defense Systems during the national military parade

The medium range BUK missiles can deploy a protective umbrella even upon the Northern Turkish occupied sector of the island

For the first time after nearly two decades of speculations, Cyprus unveiled during the 1st October military parade, the BUK M1-2 SAM batteries that provide a strong Air Defense above the whole island. Two TELAR along with a command vehicle were spotted during the parade.

Initially Cyprus wanted to acquire two Hi-SAM S-300 PMU-1 batteries back in the mid 90s. Due to diplomatic pressure from Turkey (threatening even with pre-emptive strike before those SAMs reach Cyprus soil) and to avoid further military escalation, Greece and Cyprus agreed to transfer the S-300 batteries to the Crete island and in exchange Greece would repay in military equipment. The total amount of the deal reached 460 million Euros.

Greek Media obsessed with Turkey’s S-400 SAM deal

The aqcuisition of 4 S-400 Battalions for the needs of the TuAF is a big game changer in the Greek-Turkey arms race

The latest month initial rumours about a realistic Turkish S-400 deal became almost a certainty. A few days ago, President of Turkey, Reztep Tayip Erdogan confirmed that the first payment of the 2.5 billion dollar deal have been deposited to the Russians. Official reports have not disclosed any details yet, but according to Turkish media, this deal included the acquisition of 4xS-400 battalions along with a double payload of missiles and technology transfer. The latter will help Turkey integrate the S-400 Hi-SAM into their national Integrated Air Defence System. ASESLAN would probably be one of the key local contributors. This company has a vast amount of experience in military RF equipment and electronics.

Even if Turkey wanted to manufacture some parts of the S-400 systems locally, this was denied from the Russian side. All missile batteries will be manufactured in Russia and be delivered in a 2-year period. It is not known yet if the 48N6E3 EDM missile (250 km range) or the 400 km 40N6 missile will be the main armament of those SAMs. Neither if anti-ballistic 9M96 (can be quad packed, range 120 km) with high Pk missiles will be part of the deal.

Greece ready to upgrade its F-16 fleet to the Viper level

To keep the F-16 fleet updated, Hellenic Airforce plans for a major upgrade program including APG-83 AESA radar, link 16 and advanced IRST options

In the following month Greece will receive the response from the LoR towards Lockheed Martin for the upgrade of its F-16 fleet to the latest Viper level. The upgrade program is structured in a modular way with various options for the different block 30/50/52/52+ Adv which are currently in service with the Hellenic Airforce.

The main goal is to upgrade almost the whole fleet to a common configuration including the avionics, telecommunication equipment like Link 16 and a new APX-126 IFF interrogator, the sensors (radar and IRST pods), the compatible weapons ( HARM, JDAM, JSOW, JSM as option) while structural upgrading the airframes and repairing and overhauling current engines installed.

Simulating the Tomahawk missile attack on Shayrat AFB in Syria

A massive US Tomahawk missile attack can not be easily stopped. Low-profile flight path in addition with massive ordance can be used to penetrate and saturate the enemy AA defenses

In this article, we will provide technical insight on the Tomahawk missile attack against the Sayarat AFB in Syria. This missile attack happened on April of 2017. It was executed by 2 cruising Arleigh Burke destroyers after accusations that the Assad Regime used chemical weapons against civilians. The decision of the attack was made during a period when President Donald Trump was accused by American media of being Putin’s Friend.

Regardless of the political aspect of this incident, various reports and satellite photographs have shown that the Sayarat AFB was heavily hit by the salvo of Tomahawks.

This is a follow on article about the Operational Lessons from the Tomahawk missile attack in Syria (article is written in Greek, though Chrome Browser could help translate parts of it) which was published during last April.

FYROM and Greece close to a name resolution

After decades of turmoil and political instability the FYROM Republic is keen on accepting a solution regarding changing the international official name by the former country. Greece have been rejecting any solution that includes national  definition. The problem with the official name of FYROM is not only a pure diplomatic recognition issue but also a blocking point and a prerequisite for FYROM’s path to join NATO and the EU.

Greece will acquire 5 more CH-47D heavy helicopters from USA

CH-47D in Greek Service. One of the most renowned military Helicopter in Greece’s Inventory

Based on the recent announcement from DSCA (28 April 2017), Greece and specifically Greek Army Aviation will acquire 5 more used CH-47D helicopters from the Surplus of US Inventory. This is a follow-on contract to a  previous one (December 11 2014) which was covering the delivery of 10 helicopters of the same type. Currently there are ongoing deliveries for the 10 CH-47 D of the previous contract. Greek Army Aviation, being an operator for 30 years praised the reliability and operational capabilities of the Chinook helicopters.

The following abstract is from the announcement of DSCA:

WASHINGTON, Apr. 28, 2017 – The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of Greece for CH-47D helicopters. The estimated cost is $80 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on April 27, 2017.

Deploying UAVs as Jammers in the Aegean Sea

Deploying UAVs as Jammers in the Aegean Se

To overcome the massive Turkish armed forces, Greek defence must focus on acquiring force multipliers such as UAV in ECM (Electronic Countermeasures) roles.

 

By Dimitris Natsiopoulos, Electrical and Computer Engineer

In the dawn of 21^st Century, one of the new achievements for the military aviation that saw extensive use was the deployment of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) in war theaters around the Globe. These aircrafts come to replace conventional manned aircrafts especially in supporting missions.

Used in ISR (Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) missions like the Nothrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk or armed with Hellfire missiles like the MQ-9 Reaper for ground support, UAVs plays an important role in todays defence capabilities. With rapid advancements in technology, nowdays it is possible for a relatively small aerial platform to participate in almost every task of aerial combat.