Exercise Report Iniohos 2019
Iniohos 2019 saw fifth-generation fighters meet fourth and veteran thirdgeneration warplanes as the skies over the Peloponnese peninsula became the centre of intense flying activities in April. Peter ten Berg reports from Andravida air base in the northwest of the province.
This year’s Iniohos exercise took place over a twoweek period and featured several waves of missions launched each day. For the first time, fifth-generation fighters were involved too, in the shape of six F-35As from the Aeronautica Militare’s (Italian Air Force’s) 32° Stormo from Amendola.
Iniohos began in the 1980s as a pure Elliniki Polemiki Aeroporia (Hellenic Air Force, HAF) exercise, but by 2005 – joined by navy and army units – it had become the largest national defence exercise, operating out of several bases. In 2015, Iniohos adopted its current international character, becoming a mediumscale invitation exercise (INVITEX), centred on a single base.
The exercise is pitched as one of the most competitive INVITEXs on offer, providing highlevel training that regularly attracts plenty of participants.
Colonel Konstantinos Zolotas is commander of the Air Tactics Center (ATC) at Andravida air base in Gr…
