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.

Greek F-16 aircraft will fly this week over Bulgaria as part of the joint flight training "Thracian Star".

During the flight training, air combat with medium-altitude fighters, defensive and offensive air operations, tactical interceptions, visual aerial reconnaissance, low- and ultra-low-altitude route flights, close air support, search and conditional strikes on land (sea) objects.

The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) begins its annual medium-scale exercise Iniochos out of the Andravida Air Base in the Northwest Peloponnese on Monday. 

The multinational exercise runs until May 4 and will include the participation of the air forces of Cyprus, France, India, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain and the United States. 

The Greek Defense Ministry is expected to decide next week whether Athens will propose to Lockheed Martin the inclusion of SSI (security, supply, information) and infrastructure programs in the F-35 fighter jets package with the participation of the Greek defense industry.

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. 

President Katerina Sakellaropoulou will attend both funerals of the Hellenic Air Force officers aboard the F-4 "Phantom" fighter jet that crashed in the Ionian Sea on Monday.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and main opposition leader Alexis Tsipras released statements on Wednesday to mark the confirmation that the pilot of an F-4 "Phantom" fighter jet died when it crashed in the Ionian Sea on Monday.

The pilot of a two-seater F-4 Phantom died after the fighter jet crashed Monday in the Ionian Sea in western Greece, Hellenic Air Force (HAF) confirmed Wednesday.

A statement from HAF said that analysis of evidence from the crash site confirmed that Captain Efstathios Tsitlakidis, 31, died in the accident.

A search-and-rescue operation continued for a third day Wednesday for a Hellenic Air Force officer who has been missing since the fighter jet he was flying went down over the Ionian Sea in western Greece. 

Search-and-rescue operations cease after 72 hours as per standard procedure. However, there have been exceptions with some missions being given up to 48-hour extension.

A large-scale search-and-rescue operation resumed at first light in western Greece on Tuesday for a Hellenic Air Force officer who has been missing since the jet he was flying went down over the Ionian Sea on Monday.