As tensions between Russia and several Western countries continue to mount, theItaly takes part in the NATO exercise in Greece. An exercise that also takes on a different meaning in view of the recent action by the EU states against Moscow, which is certainly a cause for concern.
Allied planes have been flying over the west coast of Greece for days, taking part in an operation that NATO says is aimed at “increasing combat readiness”. The exercise called Iniochus 22, launched on March 28 and is now in its seventh edition. The event will last a few more days, until April 8th, and this year Italy has decided to take part. Iniochos 22 is based at Andravida Headquarters in the Peloponnese and countries can participate at the invitation of the Hellenic Air Force.
It suggests that this year, along with countries like France, Slovenia, the United States and Cyprus, our nation has also decided to participate. Could this be another signal to Putin, like today’s expulsion of 30 Russian diplomats? The event will also be attended by Albania, Austria, Egypt, North Macedonia, the United Kingdom, India, Canada, Croatia, Kuwait, Morocco and Saudi Arabia, who will only play the role of observers.
Back to the exercises, these are missions that take place every day from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Italy has deployed multirole fighters tornado, already deployed in Libya in 2011 to enforce the nofly zone. These are aircraft that are also supplied to the RAF and Lutwaffe, that is, the air forces of Great Britain and Germany.
France has reportedly dispatched its aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle with Rafale fighters and E2C Hawkeye Airborne Early Warning (AEW) instead, while the US has deployed F15 and MQ9 Reaper drones.
The purpose of the mission, as stated by the participants, is to increase cooperation between the allies and send a message of stability and protection. above that daily exercises, the armed forces of different countries must participate in counterattack and defense actions, as well as in support of operations conducted over land. Among the various missions there are also combat search and rescue, timesensitive targeting missions and highvalue aircraft missions.