On Friday 28 April 2023, the Deputy Minister of National Defence Mr. Nikolaos Hardalias attended the activities of the Distinguished Visitors Day of the Multinational Air Exercise “INIOCHOS 2023”, held at the Air Training Center in Andravida Air Base, accompanied by the Chief of HNDGS, General Konstantinos Floros.

In the “INIOCHOS 2023” Exercise, which takes place in the whole range of Athens FIR, from 24 April until 4 May 2023, the recently upgraded F-16 VIPER and the newly acquired RAFALE F3R fighters of the Hellenic Air Force participate for the first time, whereas Austria, France, the United States of America, Jordan, India, Spain, Italy, Canada, the Republic of Cyprus, Saudi Arabia and Slovenia participate with various types of assets and air forces personnel. Germany, Morocco, Montenegro, Bahrain, Slovakia and Tunisia also participate with observers.

The event was attended by the Mayor of Andravida-Kyllini Mr. Ioannis Lentzas, His Eminence, the Metropolitan of Ilia & Oleni Mr. Athanasios II, His Excellency the Ambassador in Greece of the Arab Republic of Egypt Mr. Omar Amer Youssef, His Excellency the Ambassador of Jordan Mr. Ahed Ali Sweidat, His Excellency the Ambassador of Spain Mr. Carles Casajuana, Her Excellency the Ambassadress of Italy Ms. Patrizia Falcinelli, Her Excellency the Ambassadress of Canada Ms. Anna-Karine Asselin, His Excellency the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Dr. Saad Alammar, Her Excellency the Ambassadress of Slovakia Ms. Marcela Hanusova and Her Excellency the Ambassadress of Slovenia Ms. Tamara Weingerl Požar, and the Deputy Head of Region for the Regional Unit of Ilia Mr. Vasilios Giannopoulos.

The Chief of HAFGS Lieutenant General Themistoklis Bourolias, the Chief of HAGS Lieutenant General Angelos Houdeloudis and the Chief of HNGS Vice Admiral Ioannis Drymousis HN, the Chief of the Royal Jordanian Air Force Brigadier General Mohammad F. Hiaysat, the Deputy Chief of Cypriot National Guard General Staff, Lieutenant General Loukas Hatzimihail, Defence Attachés, and Military delegations of foreign countries also attended the event.

Upon conclusion of the activities, the Deputy Minister made the following address:

“My expectations from this year’s Exercise “Iniochos” were high and I can say that the results far exceeded expectations. As a warm supporter of the Air Concept, I cannot hide my enthusiasm about personally confirming the flawless cooperation level among the air forces of so many different allied and friendly states.

Ladies and gentlemen, the importance of air power for modern military operations is incomparable and Greeks are aviation pioneers. The air force was never absent from our national struggles in the last hundred years.

So, it is obvious that since we entered a new era of active affirmation of our country’s rights under the Law of the Sea, the importance of the Air Force has increased even more in the Greek strategic way of thinking. The gradual but steady aggravation of the international security environment constitutes another important factor. So, when this government took over and the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis gave to the leadership of our Ministry the order to build the most powerful and capable Armed Forces in the modern history of the country, the upgrade of our Air Force was among our top priorities.

You all know of course, the emblematic armaments programs that have been completed, started or accelerated during the last four years. The Defence budgets for the fiscal years 2020-2023 amounted to over twenty billion euros in total and a big portion of this amount was dedicated to the reinforcement of our air capabilities. The procurement of twenty-four Rafale fighters was a key moment for the Hellenic Air Force. However, we must also point out the progress in the upgrade of the F-16 aircraft to the top Viper configuration, with the essential participation of the Hellenic Air Industry, which was really disappointing just four years ago. Even more important is the fact that we are about to acquire our first F-35 fifth generation fighters by 2028 or 2029. This development will constitute a real turning point for the long-term power balance in the whole region of the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean.

Another field of steady and measurable progress after 2019 is our defence diplomacy, as it is apparent by the participation or even the organisation of complex and extremely demanding exercises, like “Iniochos 2023”. We are staunch supporters of the principle that, although the defence of national sovereignty is primarily a national obligation, strong alliances among states that share common principles and values operate as force multipliers, to the point where the whole is more powerful than the sum of the members that compose an alliance.

Today, we saw air assets and personnel from twelve allied and friendly states operating together and showing an incomparable level of cooperation and capability in the skies. It was a strong message of deterrence to every international opponent with aggressive tensions and at the same time a fascinating, a really marvellous sight.

Honourable guests, a great American aviator once said that the air force is like poker: to have the second best “hand” is like having nothing. It was though clear to me that all who participated in this exercise did not fight for second place, but for flying, for fighting and prevailing, and I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to see them in action.

Congratulations to the HNDGS, the HAFGS, all the allies and partners who participated in the exercise. We are looking forward to seeing you again soon!”.