This year’s Tiger Meet takes place in Greece, at Araxos Air Base, home of the oldest squadron of the Hellenic Air Force (HAF), the 335 Squadron.
The 335 Squadron, with its callsign “Tiger”, was founded in 1941 and has flown a long series of different aircraft throughout its history. Its crew currently flies the advanced F-16, which during Tiger Meet 2022 will operate alongside Italian and German Eurofighters, French Rafale, Belgian F-16s and Swiss and Spanish F-18s, along with other allied and partner support aircraft and helicopters. The exercises will last two weeks.
Turkey, given its poor relations with its Aegean neighbor, decided not to participate in this edition of the Tiger Meet.
With more than 1,000 personnel and more than 60 aircraft, the 116th Fighter Wing hosts at Araxos Air Base a large number of air assets from allied and partner countries. Having more aircraft than normal on the base and the different airframes pose a logistical and engineering challenge for the base’s support staff.
Tiger Meets are held annually and are attended by NATO combat aviation squadrons with a Tiger on their shields. In addition to being an opportunity for NATO air forces to share ideas and experiences, Tiger Meets are also public relations exercises between allied air forces. And they are also a treat to the eye for every aviation lover, as a large number of aircraft come painted in tiger-pattern stripes and schemes.
“The tactical training, simulating realistic scenarios, is one major aspect for aircrews and all the personnel to harmonize their procedures for being ready to achieve the collective aim of ensuring safe and secure skies over every Alliance’s member,” said Colonel (P) Petros Sassaris, Base Commander of the 116 Combat Wing of Araxos Air Base.
NATO reports that during the first week of the exercise a broad spectrum of air operations has been trained. This has included joint air operations, air combat training and air strikes, challenging air and ground crews in a complex, high-intensity scenario.
Ongoing training and exercises improve the interoperability, readiness and cohesion of Alliance forces and demonstrate their ability to react to any threat in the Euro-Atlantic area.
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