[Military Plane Spotting] INIOCHOS Exercise 2019 at the Andravida Air Force Base, Greece

Exercise «INIOCHOS» is an annual medium scale exercise based on the facilities of the Air Tactics Center at the Andravida Air Force Base, located in the Northwest Peloponnese, Greece. The duration of the exercise is 15 calendar days (forces deployment from 1 to 12 April), and the scenario adopts a Single Base Concept (execution of operations from a single Air Base), with the participation of all branches of the Armed Forces.

The « INIOCHOS » exercise was organized for the first time in the late 1980s, as a small scale tactical level exercise, tailored to the need for training in combined air operations with the Hellenic Air Force (HAF) Doctrine. Over the next years, the success of the exercise push to the decision on establishing an annual event.

In November 2013, the decision was made to adopt a single Base Concept, upgrading the exercise and to expanding the spectrum of operations with the objective to create a more realistic and demanding environment, with an intensive and prolonged 24/7 exercice rhythm, significantly increasing the level of training.

In April 2015, the exercise is being held for the first time in the form of  INVITEX (Invitation Exercise), with the participation of the Israeli AF and the USAF in Europe Special Forces with JTAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller).

Main Objectives

• To provide REALISTIC training, which is achieved by creating a realistic Battle Environment.. The participating personnel are exposed to an intensive battle rhythm with realistic attrition rates and challenging scenarios which include multiple modern threats and difficulties inject in real time live.
• To accurate Shot :This is achieved with the use of onboard and off board tracking data, sensors and specialized debriefing software, which is used for the reconstruction of the mission by experienced Fighter Weapons School instructors, who oversee the debriefing process.

The Missions in 2019

In order to achieve the objectives of the Exercise, the Hellenic Fighter Weapons School oversees the missions from scenario planning to debriefing and makes certain that they cover the full spectrum of missions currently performed by the HAF such as:

• Air operations versus Integrated Air Defense System (IADS)
• Offensive Counter Air / Airfield Attack
• Air Interdiction / Special Targets (bridges, power stations, vehicles, etc.)
• Anti-Surface Warfare
• Slow Mover Protection (SLOMO)
• Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
• Dynamic Targeting (DT) / Strike Coordination and Reconnaissance (SCAR) / Close -Air Support (CAS) / Time Sensitive Targets (TST)
• High Value Airborne Asset (HVAA) Protect/Attack

This 2019 edition of the exercise will have seen the participation of about seventy aircraft. They came from HAF, IAF, USAFE, United Arab Emirates Air Forces and the Italian AF. About the Italian AF it was the first overseas deployment for its F-35A.