Dogfight

After 18 months of conflict, the Ukrainian air forces needreplacement aircraft as their losses mount and Russian air forces exert increasing control over the skies above Ukraine, according to Al Jazeera.

At a time when the Hellenic Air Force is mourning the loss of two pilots in an accident on Monday, a total of 23 Turkish aircraft, 18 of which were armed, carried out 14 violations of Greek airspace and 12 violations of the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) on Wednesday, authorities said.

The 22 Turkish F-16s and one spy plane flew in formations of four and in pairs. 

Turkish fighter jets on Wednesday conducted a total of 70 airspace violations, which led to six overflights and five mock dogfights with Greek fighter jets.

The recent flare-up in tension over the Aegean is seen in Athens as a reaction to Greece's joint military exercise with Cyprus,  dubbed Steel Arrow, perceived by Ankara as a challenge in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Turkish and Greek fighter jets engaged in a dogfight over the eastern Aegean islet of Ro on Thursday afternoon, as a helicopter carrying the Chief of the Hellenic Army General Staff, Lieutenant-General Georgios Kambas, was trying to land.
The Turkish F-16 jets entered Greek airspace and flew one mile over Ro. They were soon intercepted by Greek fighter jets in a brief dogfight.

A Turkish helicopter and three pairs of F-16 fighter jets violated Greece's national air space on several occasions on Monday and entered the Athens Flight Informational Region.

They were chased off by Greek air force pilots, who had to engage in mock dogfights in two instances, the state-run ANA-MPA news agency reported.

A Turkish CN-235 transport airplane entered the Athens Flight Information Region (FIR) on Tuesday and conducted an overflight 30 meters above the uninhabited islet of Zourafa, east of the island of Samothrace in the northern Aegean.

Turkish military forces are currently conducting training exercises in the region.

The very next day after the visit of the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras to the USA to meet with the US President Dnald Trump and right after the very warm words the two exchanged in a very friendly atmosphere, Turkey reacted in a quite predictable way: They sent four F-16s and two military helicopters which violated the Athens FIR 10 times and the Greek airspace a 24(!) times.

Greek and Turkish F-16s engaged in three mock dogfights east of the island of Rhodes in the southeastern Aegean yesterday. The dogfights occurred within the space of 10 minutes from 2.50 to 3 p.m. 

In total, 10 Turkish F-16 jets - four of them armed - and two CN-235 transport aircraft entered Greek national airspace 30 times. 

Turkish pilots engaging in mock dogfights with their Greek counterparts over the Aegean Sea have recently displayed signs of nervousness and inexperience, according to Hellenic Air Force sources.

A Turkish military reconnaissance aircraft violated Greek airspace for a long time on Thursday. Turkish aircraft illegally entered Greek airspace for 38 times flying over the northeast, central and southeast Aegean Sea, with two flying in formation and two others infringed on the Athens FIR 4 times. The reconnaissance airplane followed a path over the islands of Rhodes, Lesvos and Limnos.