The Italian Twister IDS and ECR jets have been among the many plane collaborating in “Iniochos 2023” train.
We’ll cowl this 12 months’s iteration of the annual Hellenic Air Power “Iniochos” medium-scale train hosted by the Hellenic Air Power on the amenities of the ATC (Air Ways Middle) at Andravida Air Base, Greece, in an upcoming report. Anyway, among the many plane collaborating within the drills, there have been additionally the Italian Air Power Tornado IDS and ECR jets of the 6° Stormo, from Ghedi Air Base.
Throughout their keep in Greece, the Italian Tornados had an opportunity to take advantage of one of many canyons positioned within the northwest of the Peloponnese peninsula, recurrently used for low degree flying by the Hellenic Air Power plane and, through the Iniochos workout routines, by allied plane deployed to Andravida.
This 12 months, many aviation fans, photographers and spotters have climbed the hills within the so-called “Greek Mach Loop” (for its resemblance to the well-known UK Low Flying Areas) to take images and movies of the low flying plane, with some gorgeous outcomes.
On this put up you’ll find three fairly cool clips that present the Tornados thundering quick at low degree, with wings swept at 45 and 67 levels, within the slim Greek valleys, together with Saudi F-15SAs, additionally collaborating in “Iniochos 23”.
Previously, till finish of the Nineties, a major a part of the sorties noticed the Twister IDS and ECRs function at ultra-low degree. Nonetheless, expertise in actual fight operations (like Allied Force over the Balkans and Unified Protector over Libya) has made low degree flying much less related. “These days we principally function at medium altitude,” informed us final 12 months the commander of the 155° Gruppo (Squadron), that flies the Twister ECR. “Nonetheless, relying on the state of affairs, we might must return to function at low degree sooner or later and that is the explanation why we proceed to take a position a part of our flight hours within the low degree coaching: our aircrews are educated to hold out missions as little as 100 ft”. Furthermore, footage coming from Ukraine has proven flying at low degree continues to be a should in sure fight eventualities, the place fighter pilots must infiltrate closely defended targets and to evade from areas protected by refined air protection programs. To have the ability to fly at lower than 2,000 ft could be helpful throughout coaching too, when climate circumstances are such to require a low degree leg to maintain visible contact with the bottom and VMC (Visible Meteorological Circumstances).
In Italy, low degree flying is allowed inside just a few tactical areas the place tactical jets can fly as little as 500 ft AGL (Above Floor Stage), however I’m unsure you’ll be able to see there one thing just like the scenes proven within the movies above…
David Cenciotti is a journalist primarily based in Rome, Italy. He’s the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of many world’s most well-known and browse army aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for main worldwide magazines, together with Air Forces Month-to-month, Fight Plane, and lots of others, protecting aviation, protection, warfare, trade, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown a number of fight planes with completely different air forces. He’s a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Power, a non-public pilot and a graduate in Pc Engineering. He has written 5 books and contributed to many extra ones.
