The strengthening of the military relations between Greece and France, as with other friendly countries and allies, is ongoing and shown in the conduct of the Multinational Air Exercise “VOLFA- 22”.

The last week of the exercise, which started yesterday, includes the most difficult and complex scenarios conducted according to NATO standards. The Hellenic Air Force (HAF) participated in the same exercise in 2020. The VOLFA exercise is organized by the French Air Force and has a “train as you fight” character, while it has adequately evolved in recent years, as something new is added to each event.

As mentioned in a related announcement of the French Air Force, VOLFA is an important training exercise with high-intensity operations. It consists of twenty air exercises conducted day and night and marks the integration of the cyber and intelligence domains.

Cette année, 7 nations différentes et près de 60 aéronefs participent à l'exercice « VOLFA ». Seront présents des détachements des armées de l’air 🇺🇸🇨🇦🇦🇪🇪🇸🇬🇷🇮🇹🇵🇹 déployés en France aux côtés des 640 Aviateurs 🇫🇷 pour développer échanges et interopérabilité. #Coopération pic.twitter.com/RggbO5lC3Y

— Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace (@Armee_de_lair) September 28, 2022

At least 60 aircraft, 640 airmen, hundreds of technicians are camped at Mont De Marsan, where allied interoperability is being developed. More than twenty air scenarios are planned and executed daily with pilots constantly changing roles and allies in both strike and interception missions.

On the ground, paratroopers, air traffic controllers, and air defence operators will be fully involved in the scenario for the optimal combat training of all pilots.

Fighter jets from France, the USA, Spain, Portugal, Canada, the UAE, Greece, and Italy will participate in the exercise. Since September 26, when the exercise kicked off, 450 aircraft sorties have already been carried out, while 643 hours of the day and 105 hours of night flights have been recorded, according to data released by the Armee de l’Air.

On behalf of Greece, pilots and technicians from the 340 Fighter Bomber Squadron “Fox” have been there for two weeks with four F-16 block 52+ fighters. 

Also read: National Guard | Participation in International Joint Exercise “EAGER LION – 2022” in Jordan and in Small-Scale Bilateral Exercise “SCORPIOS – 2022” in Cyprus – Photos