112-509: The Hellenic Air Force ( HAF ; Greek : Πολεμική Αεροπορία , romanized : Polemikí Aeroporía , lit. 'Military Aviation', sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ ) is the air force of Greece ( Hellenic being the endonym for Greek in the Greek language ). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO , and is globally placed 18th out of 139 countries. Under
224-509: A seaplane , setting a new average speed world record at 110 kilometres per hour (68 miles per hour). In September of the same year, the Greek Army fielded its first squadron, the 'Aviators Company' ( Greek : Λόχος Αεροπόρων ). On 5 October 1912, Kamberos flew the first combat mission, a reconnaissance flight over Thessaly . This was on the first day of the Balkan wars . On the same day
336-577: A basis for coinages: anthropology , photography , telephony , isomer , biomechanics , cinematography , etc. Together with Latin words , they form the foundation of international scientific and technical vocabulary ; for example, all words ending in -logy ('discourse'). There are many English words of Greek origin . Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family. The ancient language most closely related to it may be ancient Macedonian , which, by most accounts,
448-558: A fairly stable set of consonantal contrasts . The main phonological changes occurred during the Hellenistic and Roman period (see Koine Greek phonology for details): In all its stages, the morphology of Greek shows an extensive set of productive derivational affixes , a limited but productive system of compounding and a rich inflectional system. Although its morphological categories have been fairly stable over time, morphological changes are present throughout, particularly in
560-560: A faster, more convenient cursive writing style with the use of ink and quill . The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters, each with an uppercase ( majuscule ) and lowercase ( minuscule ) form. The letter sigma has an additional lowercase form (ς) used in the final position of a word: In addition to the letters, the Greek alphabet features a number of diacritical signs : three different accent marks ( acute , grave , and circumflex ), originally denoting different shapes of pitch accent on
672-540: A foreign language. It is also often stated that the historical changes have been relatively slight compared with some other languages. According to one estimation, " Homeric Greek is probably closer to Demotic than 12-century Middle English is to modern spoken English ". Greek is spoken today by at least 13 million people, principally in Greece and Cyprus along with a sizable Greek-speaking minority in Albania near
784-802: A letter of request, awaiting answer even in September, 2024, for cost and availability. One major point of the agreement is were the upgrade will take place. HAF has request proposals for both, in-base upgrade in 111 Combat Wing in Nea Anchialos air force base, as well as in Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI) in Tanagra, among the other aircraft. Officials claim that upgrades in 111 Combat Wing will be less costly, plus there will be two production lines, making Block 50 to Block 70 Vipers conversions faster. In April 2019, as part of
896-545: A number of reconnaissance and bombing missions; the most notable was a sortie against the Ottoman fleet anchorage in the Dardanelles , where First Lieutenant Michael Moutoussis and Ensign Aristeidis Moraitinis spotted the Ottoman fleet and dropped four bombs. This mission is regarded as the first naval-air operation in military history and was widely commented upon in the press, both Greek and international. Meanwhile,
1008-644: A similar mission was flown by German mercenaries in Ottoman service, over the Thrace front against the Bulgarian Army. The Greek and the Ottoman missions, coincidentally flown on the same day, were the first military aviation missions in the history of conventional war. As a matter of fact, all Balkan countries used military aircraft and foreign mercenaries during the Balkan Wars. 24 January 1913, saw
1120-693: A single service, the Royal Hellenic Air Force. In 1931, the Hellenic Air Force Academy , the Icarus School ( Greek : Σχολή Ικάρων ), was founded. At the end of 1936, Greece ordered 36 Polish PZL P.24 fighter aircraft, which entered service with the 21st, 22nd and 23rd Pursuit Squadrons and after completion of deliveries in 1938, formed the core of the RHAF fighter force. The planes were well armed; 12 planes of
1232-886: A total number of three-hundred advanced fighters, also according to the Supreme Air Force Council 2007–2012 operational planning , which was published in 2007. Candidates for the new generation aircraft were the Dassault Rafale , F-35 Lightning II , F/A-18E/F Super Hornet , MiG-35 , and the Sukhoi Su-35 . During the Greek economic crisis (2008-2018), budget cuts forced HAF to ground many of its F-16s due to lack of spare parts and maintenance. Eventually in 2015, Greece placed an order for provision of spare parts in support of its F-16, F/RF-4E, C-130H/B, C-27J, T-6A/C, and other aircraft with systems / sub-systems of U.S. origin. The estimated cost of this order
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#17327652126791344-804: Is also found in Bulgaria near the Greek-Bulgarian border. Greek is also spoken worldwide by the sizable Greek diaspora which has notable communities in the United States , Australia , Canada , South Africa , Chile , Brazil , Argentina , Russia , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , and throughout the European Union , especially in Germany . Historically, significant Greek-speaking communities and regions were found throughout
1456-773: Is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent Hellenic branch within the Indo-European language family. It is native to Greece , Cyprus , Italy (in Calabria and Salento ), southern Albania , and other regions of the Balkans , Caucasus , the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor , and the Eastern Mediterranean . It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system
1568-479: Is an Indo-European language, but also includes a number of borrowings from the languages of the populations that inhabited Greece before the arrival of Proto-Greeks, some documented in Mycenaean texts ; they include a large number of Greek toponyms . The form and meaning of many words have changed. Loanwords (words of foreign origin) have entered the language, mainly from Latin, Venetian , and Turkish . During
1680-755: Is in the process of obtaining new ones. There is the F-4, F-16 in several variants, Mirage 2000 and Rafales. As well, the F-35 will be obtained soon. This is very expensive for the Armed Forces and this needs reformed. In March 2024, Defence Minister Nikos Dendias announced that the F-4s will be retired soon and the older F-16s and Mirage 2000s will be sold off. This will streamline the Air Force. This streamlining can be of benefit to other countries such as India which may buy
1792-513: Is no conformation of any purchase, and talks are ongoing. In August 2020, Greece announced the acquisition of eighteen Rafale multi-role aircraft from France . Initial reports stated that ten would be the new C-built Rafale F3-R version, and eight would be older F1 & F2 versions already in use with the French Air Force , that would be given to Greece free-of-charge. However, later reports stated that all eighteen aircraft would be
1904-519: Is protected and promoted officially as a regional and minority language in Armenia, Hungary , Romania, and Ukraine. It is recognized as a minority language and protected in Turkey by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne . The phonology , morphology , syntax , and vocabulary of the language show both conservative and innovative tendencies across the entire attestation of the language from the ancient to
2016-943: Is sometimes called aljamiado , as when Romance languages are written in the Arabic alphabet. Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Greek: Transcription of the example text into Latin alphabet : Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in English: Proto-Greek Mycenaean Ancient Koine Medieval Modern Hellenic Naval Air Service The Naval Air Service ( Greek : Ναυτική Αεροπορική Υπηρεσία, ΝΑΥ )
2128-423: Is spoken by at least 13.5 million people today in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Turkey , and the many other countries of the Greek diaspora . Greek roots have been widely used for centuries and continue to be widely used to coin new words in other languages; Greek and Latin are the predominant sources of international scientific vocabulary . Greek has been spoken in the Balkan peninsula since around
2240-526: Is still unconfirmed. During the latter part of the Greek Economic Crisis, HAF after years of austerity decided to modernize the aging fighter fleet. It dedicated resources for the upgrade of the fleet of its existing Mirage 2000 and F-16 fighters. In 2018, Lockheed Martin was contracted to upgrade eighty-four F-16C/D Block 52+ and Block 52+ Advanced (Block 52M) to the latest F-16C/D Block 70/72 (F-16V Viper) standard, bringing capabilities to
2352-763: Is still used internationally for the writing of Ancient Greek . In Greek, the question mark is written as the English semicolon, while the functions of the colon and semicolon are performed by a raised point (•), known as the ano teleia ( άνω τελεία ). In Greek the comma also functions as a silent letter in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing ό,τι ( ó,ti , 'whatever') from ότι ( óti , 'that'). Ancient Greek texts often used scriptio continua ('continuous writing'), which means that ancient authors and scribes would write word after word with no spaces or punctuation between words to differentiate or mark boundaries. Boustrophedon , or bi-directional text,
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#17327652126792464-650: Is the Greek alphabet , which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary . The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin , Cyrillic , Coptic , Gothic , and many other writing systems. The Greek language holds a very important place in the history of the Western world. Beginning with
2576-554: The 330 'Thunder' and 346 'Jason' interceptor squadrons in Larissa air force base. On 29 March 1991, the RF-84F were retired from service after 34 years and 7 months of operational life. In November 1992, more RF-4Es were delivered to the 348 'Eyes' Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron . In 1993, the 'Peace Xenia II' modernisation programme began. Greece ordered thirty-two F-16C and eight F-16D, Block 50 variant . The first Block 50
2688-815: The Aegean . After participation in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) a long period of peace followed during which the Naval Air Service was reorganized and upgraded, especially with the establishment of the State Aircraft Factory , which manufactured various types of aircraft. In 1930 the Naval Air Service was merged with the Hellenic Army Aviation and formed the third branch in the Greek Armed Forces,
2800-901: The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger (in service 1969–1975), the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter , and the Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter . The F-104 and F-5 stayed in service until the mid- to late 1980s. In the mid-1970s, the Hellenic Air Force was further modernised with deliveries of the Dassault Mirage F1 CG fleet, the Vought A-7 Corsair II (including a number of TA-7Hs), and the first batch of McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom IIs . In 1993,
2912-495: The Eastern Mediterranean , in what are today Southern Italy , Turkey , Cyprus , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine , Egypt , and Libya ; in the area of the Black Sea , in what are today Turkey, Bulgaria , Romania , Ukraine , Russia , Georgia , Armenia , and Azerbaijan ; and, to a lesser extent, in the Western Mediterranean in and around colonies such as Massalia , Monoikos , and Mainake . It
3024-592: The F/A-18 Hornet , a new onboard Mission Control Computer (MCC), a head-up display (HUD), the identification friend or foe (IFF) interrogator, multi-function displays , and were also capable of carrying a variety of advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. These included the AIM-120 AMRAAM (although only the -B edition), the AIM-9M missile, the automated flight-director system (AFDS), and
3136-629: The German Aerospace Industry (DASA) and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI/EAB) , to upgrade thirty-nine F-4E Phantom II fighters. The first aircraft was delivered at Andravida Air Base in December 2002. This aircraft, which was named Princess of Andravida ( s/n 72-01523), was unique because it did not have the M61 Vulcan gun installed. All upgraded F-4s were equipped with the new AN/APQ-65YG radar similar to that of
3248-710: The Hellenic Air Force . The present-day Hellenic Navy retains an aerial component in the form of the Navy Aviation Command . Aviation had been introduced to Greece in February 1912, when Emmanouil Argyropoulos performed a flight, with his privately owned Nieuport IV .G aircraft, around Athens . An hour later a second flight was carried on with the Prime Minister of Greece, Eleftherios Venizelos as passenger. Venizelos, impressed by
3360-477: The Hellenic Navy , and to provide humanitarian aid in Greece and around the world. The Hellenic Air Force includes approximately 33,000 active troops, of whom 11,750 are career officers , 14,000 are professional soldiers (ΕΠ.ΟΠ.), 7,250 are volunteer conscripts, and 1,100 are women. The motto of the Hellenic Air Force is the ancient Greek phrase Αἰὲν Ὑψικρατεῖν ( Aièn Hypsikrateîn , 'Always Dominate
3472-610: The IRIS-T air-to-air missile . Three squadrons are operating with this type of F-16. These squadrons are the 337 'Ghost' in Larissa air base, the 340 'Fox' , and the 343 'Star' in Souda air base. In 2007, the Greek government ordered an additional thirty F-16 fighters; twenty single-seaters and ten two-seaters. However this time, the aircraft variant was the F-16C/D Block 52+ Advanced , that had been specifically modified for
Hellenic Air Force - Misplaced Pages Continue
3584-516: The Indo-Iranian languages (see Graeco-Aryan ), but little definitive evidence has been found. In addition, Albanian has also been considered somewhat related to Greek and Armenian, and it has been proposed that they all form a higher-order subgroup along with other extinct languages of the ancient Balkans; this higher-order subgroup is usually termed Palaeo-Balkan , and Greek has a central position in it. Linear B , attested as early as
3696-666: The Kingdom of Greece from 1935 to 1973, it was previously known as the Royal Hellenic Air Force ( RHAF ) ([Ἑλληνικὴ Βασιλικὴ Ἀεροπορία] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |3= ( help ) ). The Hellenic Air Force is one of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces , and its mission is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and
3808-831: The Macedonian front , as well as İzmir , Ottoman Empire . In 1918 the Naval Aviation had four squadrons of Sopwith Camel biplanes and other aircraft, while each one counted ca. 10–12 aircraft. Aristeidis Moraitinis , the commander of the Hellenic Naval Air Service, acquired the nickname the Fearless Aviator by his British colleagues and counted nine victories in total, becoming so Greece's only World War I ace . In one occasion, on 20 January 1918, Moraitinis, fought ten enemy aircraft which attacked two British Sopwith Baby seaplanes he
3920-624: The Middle East flew a variety of missions, including convoy patrols, anti-submarine search, offensive patrols, reconnaissance, attack and interception of enemy aircraft. In Summer 1943, the Greek squadrons participated in the attack against the German Wehrmacht on the island of Crete , and then from May to November 1944 in Italy. During those years, seventy Greek pilots were lost. During World War II , Greek pilots who were flying with
4032-682: The Ministry for Naval Affairs and the incorporation of the Greek naval air fleet into the Greek Navy ensured the foundation of the Naval Air Service (NAY). Meanwhile, disagreements between King Constantine I and Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos over whether Greece should enter World War I , lead to political instability and the National Schism (1914–1916). Greece officially joined the Triple Entente at June 1917, however
4144-399: The US Pentagon confirmed Greece as one of five countries to be considered as potential new customers. In January 2020, Greece formally expressed interest in acquiring and participating in the F-35 programme, following a visit by Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis to the White House . A figure of twenty aircraft was initially floated, to be acquired following successful completion of
4256-399: The United States Air Force delivered sixty-two additional A-7Es and TA-7Cs increasing further the air-to-ground capabilities of the HAF. These aircraft remained in service until 2011. Until the late 1980s, the Air Force deployed missiles armed with U.S. nuclear warheads using the LTV TA-7C Corsair II . As a result of Greco-Turkish tension caused by the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus ,
4368-492: The nominal and verbal systems. The major change in the nominal morphology since the classical stage was the disuse of the dative case (its functions being largely taken over by the genitive ). The verbal system has lost the infinitive , the synthetically -formed future, and perfect tenses and the optative mood . Many have been replaced by periphrastic ( analytical ) forms. Pronouns show distinctions in person (1st, 2nd, and 3rd), number (singular, dual , and plural in
4480-437: The 'Talos' modernisation programme. Subsequently, in 1989, the first fourth-generation fighter jets were introduced, marking the beginning of a new era: the first Mirage 2000 EG/BG aircraft were delivered to the 114 Combat Wing in Tanagra air force base, and equipped the 331 and 332 squadrons. In January 1989, the first F-16C/D Block 30 arrived in 111 Combat Wing in Nea Anchialos air force base, and were allocated to
4592-584: The 2021 Thessaloniki International Fair announced the purchase of six additional Rafale, bringing the total order number to twenty-four. Greece officially signed the new contract for the acquisition of six additional new Rafale aircraft on 24 March 2022, which follows Greece's acquisition of Rafales in January 2021, and increased number of Rafales to be operated to twenty-four aircraft. Greek language Greek ( Modern Greek : Ελληνικά , romanized : Elliniká , [eliniˈka] ; Ancient Greek : Ἑλληνική , romanized : Hellēnikḗ )
Hellenic Air Force - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-415: The 3rd millennium BC, or possibly earlier. The earliest written evidence is a Linear B clay tablet found in Messenia that dates to between 1450 and 1350 BC, making Greek the world's oldest recorded living language . Among the Indo-European languages, its date of earliest written attestation is matched only by the now-extinct Anatolian languages . The Greek language is conventionally divided into
4816-463: The A-7 Corsair II to deploy tactical B61 nuclear warheads from Araxos Air Force Base. Greece then strategically decided to remove all nuclear weapons under storage in Greece, and did not purchase any more aircraft with nuclear mounting capabilities. In September 2004, Greece also decided to upgrade all of its existing Mirage 2000 to the Mirage 2000-5F (Mk2) standard, and place an additional order for fifteen new Mirage 2000-5Mk2 aircraft. The project
4928-406: The Air Force was rebuilt and organised according to NATO standards. New aircraft, including jets, were introduced. The first jet fighter flown by the RHAF was the Republic F-84G Thunderjet in 1955. It was also flown by the first Air Force aerobatic team 337 SQ 'Hellenic Flame' ( Greek : Ελληνική Φλόγα). The RF-84F entered service with the 348 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron in 1956. Although
5040-419: The F-4. This was on the same day as Turkey's approval to buy 40 F-16Vs and 79 modernisation kits for its F-16Cs. The procurement of 20 aircraft was approved by the Hellenic Parliament on 27 June 2024. Greece signed the relevant Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LoA) on July 25, 2024. The C-130B/H variants are coming to the end of their service lives and will need to be replaced soon. As announced in January 2023,
5152-441: The F-84G was replaced by the Canadair Sabre 2 in 1954 and 1955 after one-hundred units were retired from the Royal Canadian Air Force and upgraded in the United Kingdom before entering service with the RHAF, the RF-84F remained in service until 1991. The Lockheed T-33 was also delivered as a trainer in 1955. Some RT-33s were used for reconnaissance missions. In the late 1960s, the RHAF acquired new jet aircraft. These included
5264-447: The Farman school in Étampes near Paris , but only four subsequently served in aviation. The first Greek civilian aviator that was given military rank was Emmanuel Argyropoulos , who flew in a Nieuport IV.G. 'Alkyon' aircraft, on 8 February 1912. The first military flight was made on 13 May 1912, by Lieutenant Dimitrios Kamberos . In June, Kamberos flew with the 'Daedalus', a Farman Aviation Works aircraft that had been converted into
5376-449: The German occupation of Greece, the Air Force was rebuilt under the expatriated Greek Air Force Ministry based in Cairo . Three squadrons were built, operating under the command of the British RAF . These squadrons were the 13th Light Bombing Squadron flying Avro Ansons , Bristol Blenheims , and Martin Baltimores , and the 335 and 336 Fighting Squadrons flying Hawker Hurricane I and IIs and Spitfire V types. The RHAF squadrons in
5488-531: The Greek Ministry of Defence (MoD), and Éric Trappier, chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, signed the contracts in Athens on 25 January. In June 2021, Dassault Aviation released the first photographs of Rafale F3R of the Hellenic Air Force, bearing the HAF roundel and fin flash , and in July, the first aircraft was officially delivered to Greece. The aircraft were commissioned to the 332 'Falcon' All-Weather Squadron , previously operating with Mirage 2000EGM/BGM jets. On 11 September 2021, Greek Prime Minister at
5600-486: The Greek alphabet since approximately the 9th century BC. It was created by modifying the Phoenician alphabet , with the innovation of adopting certain letters to represent the vowels. The variant of the alphabet in use today is essentially the late Ionic variant, introduced for writing classical Attic in 403 BC. In classical Greek, as in classical Latin, only upper-case letters existed. The lower-case Greek letters were developed much later by medieval scribes to permit
5712-425: The Greek language are often emphasized. Although Greek has undergone morphological and phonological changes comparable to those seen in other languages, never since classical antiquity has its cultural, literary, and orthographic tradition been interrupted to the extent that one can speak of a new language emerging. Greek speakers today still tend to regard literary works of ancient Greek as part of their own rather than
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#17327652126795824-442: The Greek language was the Cypriot syllabary (also a descendant of Linear A via the intermediate Cypro-Minoan syllabary ), which is closely related to Linear B but uses somewhat different syllabic conventions to represent phoneme sequences. The Cypriot syllabary is attested in Cyprus from the 11th century BC until its gradual abandonment in the late Classical period, in favor of the standard Greek alphabet. Greek has been written in
5936-629: The Greek verb have likewise remained largely the same over the course of the language's history but with significant changes in the number of distinctions within each category and their morphological expression. Greek verbs have synthetic inflectional forms for: Many aspects of the syntax of Greek have remained constant: verbs agree with their subject only, the use of the surviving cases is largely intact (nominative for subjects and predicates, accusative for objects of most verbs and many prepositions, genitive for possessors), articles precede nouns, adpositions are largely prepositional, relative clauses follow
6048-446: The Greek-Albanian border. A significant percentage of Albania's population has knowledge of the Greek language due in part to the Albanian wave of immigration to Greece in the 1980s and '90s and the Greek community in the country. Prior to the Greco-Turkish War and the resulting population exchange in 1923 a very large population of Greek-speakers also existed in Turkey , though very few remain today. A small Greek-speaking community
6160-470: The Heights'), and the HAF emblem represents a flying eagle in front of the Hellenic Air Force roundel . The General Air Staff (GEA) is based at the Papagou Camp in the Municipality of Filothei - Psychiko of the Prefecture of Attica. In 1911, the Greek Government appointed French specialists to form the Hellenic Aviation Service . Six Greek officers were sent to France for training, while the first four Farman type aircraft were ordered. All six graduated from
6272-577: The Hellenic Air Force General Staff seemed to have decided to upgrade Block 50s to Block 50Ms (for Modernized), using equipment from the upgraded, without any final conclusion as of September 2024. The upgrade programme is scheduled to be completed by 2027, and carried out exclusively in Greece by Hellenic Aerospace (HAI). As of July 2024, 20 aircraft have been upgraded. In addition, Block 30s were decided not to receive any kind of modernization. Various proposals were made about selling them in Croatia, Lockheed Martin, USAF/USN or UAE. As of September 2024, there
6384-420: The Hellenic Air Force and offered as F-16 52M by Lockheed Martin, due to the improved computing power of the onboard mission computer (MMC). The difference between the Block 52+ and the Block 52+ Advanced, is the LINK 16 communications system of the Advanced version, as well as a more powerful mission control computer, an extra multi-function display with a movable map navigation, advanced debriefing system, and
6496-474: The Hellenic Air Force is in talks to potentially buy the Embraer C-390 Millennium from the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer. A potential option of retired C-130Js from the Royal Air Force or Royal Australian Air Force did not produce any results, neither the two C-130H from the USAF that were promised by the US diplomat Antony Blinken as a free-of-charge package of help via EDA, as costs to return into flight status were significant high. Despite this, there
6608-454: The Hellenic Navy, in the process of setting up its air arm, bought a fleet of Sopwith Gunbus seaplanes (also known as Greek Seaplanes ). At the beginning of 1914 credits were voted for the creation of a naval aerodrome in Eleusina , Attica . Meanwhile, despite limited funds Aristeidis Moraitinis managed to establish the first naval aviation school and corps. In spring 1915 the establishment of an independent Naval Aviation Department within
6720-421: The Italian invasion on air and ground had been successfully pushed back, aided by the vital contribution of the RHAF to the Greek victory. During the Greco-Italian War the Royal Hellenic Air Force shot down 68 enemy aircraft (official records) and claimed another 24. The British RAF claimed 150 additional air victories against Italian aircraft. However, the Italian Air Force recorded only 65 aircraft lost, during
6832-441: The Mirage jets. As well, the older F-16s may be sold to Ukraine which is in desperate need of new aircraft. The airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) in the current fleet is the Embraer E-99 fitted with the SAAB Erieye radar. This was introduced over twenty five-years ago, and it is ageing. SAAB has offered the "Erieye ER" upgraded radar, or the buying of the new GlobalEye as a replacement for these old aircraft. This
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#17327652126796944-417: The P.24F version had 2 machine guns and 2 20mm autocannons, the remaining 24 planes of the P.24G version had 4 machine guns. In 1939, an order for 24 Marcel Bloch MB.151 fighter aircraft was placed, but only nine of the aircraft reached Greece, since the outbreak of World War II prevented the French from completing the order. The aircraft entered service in the 24th Pursuit Squadron (MD – Moira Dioxis ) of
7056-410: The RAF achieved many victories. Rhodesian -born Wing Commander John Agorastos Plagis shot down 16 enemy aircraft over Malta and Western Europe. Lieutenant Vasilios Michael Vassiliadis was credited with 11.5 enemy aircraft over Western Europe before he was killed in action on 15 March 1945, over Germany. Steve Pisanos , an immigrant to the US in 1938, joined an Eagle Squadron of American volunteers in
7168-512: The RAF and fought over Western Europe. He later joined the USAAF and acquired US citizenship and continued to fly with the same squadron, now part of the USAF 4th FG . He had achieved ten victories with the USAAF by 1944. After Greece's liberation in 1944, RHAF returned to Greece and subsequently played a decisive role in the Greek Civil War , which lasted until 1950. By then, it was re-equipped with Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX, Spitfire Mk.XVI fighters, and Curtiss SB2C Helldiver bombers. After
7280-409: The Royal Hellenic Navy, British Admiral Mark Kerr . Greek aviation units participated in World War I and the Asia Minor Campaign , equipped by the Allies with a variety of French and British designs. In 1930, the Aviation Ministry was founded, establishing the Air Force as the third branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces . The Hellenic Army Air Service and Hellenic Naval Air Service were merged into
7392-499: The U.S. removed its nuclear weapons from Greek and Turkish alert units to storage. Greece saw this as another pro-Turkish move by NATO and withdrew its forces from NATO's military command structure from 1974 to 1980. In March 1985, the Greek government announced the purchase of thirty-four F-16C and six F-16D Block 30 variant in the 'Peace Xenia I' modernisation programme. In the same month, Greece ordered thirty-six single-seat Mirage 2000 EG and four two-seat Mirage 2000 BG, as part of
7504-404: The acute during the late 20th century, and it has only been retained in typography . After the writing reform of 1982, most diacritics are no longer used. Since then, Greek has been written mostly in the simplified monotonic orthography (or monotonic system), which employs only the acute accent and the diaeresis. The traditional system, now called the polytonic orthography (or polytonic system),
7616-564: The air force. During the Italian invasion of Greece (1940-1941) in the Second World War, although being severely outnumbered and counting only 79 aircraft against 380 fighters and bombers of the Italian Regia Aeronautica , RHAF managed to successfully resist the assault. On 30 October, two days after the start of the war, there was the first air battle. Some Henschel Hs126s of 3/2 Flight of 3 Observation Mira took off to locate Italian Army columns. But they were intercepted and attacked by Fiat CR.42 Falcos of 393 Squadriglia . A first Henschel
7728-466: The aircraft an excellent and modern platform for precision strikes. In 2000, Greece decided to purchase a large number of fighters to replace the remaining non-upgraded F-4E Phantoms, a number of A-7 Corsairs, and the fleet of Mirage F1CGs. An order for sixty F-16 Block 52 Plus was placed. The order was for fifty single-seaters of the C version and ten two-seaters of the D version. Until 2001, Greece participated in NATO's nuclear weapons sharing , using
7840-402: The ancient language; singular and plural alone in later stages), and gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter), and decline for case (from six cases in the earliest forms attested to four in the modern language). Nouns, articles, and adjectives show all the distinctions except for a person. Both attributive and predicative adjectives agree with the noun. The inflectional categories of
7952-423: The anti-royalist party of the country under the leadership of Venizelos formed a Movement of National Defence that supported the Allied military operations in the region from December 1916. During the following years (1917–1918), a fighter and bomber squadron, known as "Z" Squadron ( Greek : Ζήτα Σμήνος ), was created by Greek personnel under direct Royal Naval Air Service command and carried out operations in
8064-512: The capability to carry the RECCE reconnaissance pod. The first aircraft were delivered in May 2009, and operated by the 335 'Tiger' squadron at Araxos air base. Due to the retirement and obsolescence of units that had concluded their operational cycle (A-7E Corsair II and F-4 Phantom II), HAF was looking forward to acquiring new 4th , 4.5th or 5th generation fighters , and at the same time, maintain
8176-404: The early 19th century that was used for literary and official purposes in the newly formed Greek state. In 1976, Dimotiki was declared the official language of Greece, after having incorporated features of Katharevousa and thus giving birth to Standard Modern Greek , used today for all official purposes and in education . The historical unity and continuing identity between the various stages of
8288-714: The end of the Greek Civil War in November 1950, Greece sent seven Douglas C-47 Dakota transport aircraft of the 13th Transport Aircraft Squadron to South Korea to assist the United Nations (UN). Greek aircraft participated in many battles including Battle of Chosin and operated in Korea until May 1955. Greek pilots flew thousands of missions including air evacuations, personnel transport, intelligence gathering, and supply flights. In 1952 Greece joined NATO , and
8400-844: The entire campaign against the Greeks and later the British, with 495 additional aircraft reported as damaged. In April 1941, the German Wehrmacht invaded Greece in order to assist the Italian assault. During this second wave of foreign invasion, the Luftwaffe eventually succeeded in destroying most of the Royal Hellenic Air Force. However, some aircraft managed to escape to the Middle East, including five Avro Anson , one Dornier Do 22 , one Arado 196 , and three Avro 626 . During
8512-688: The entire family of the Paveway (I, II and III) laser-guided bombs . These aircraft were the F-4E Peace Icarus 2000 (PI2000) or F-4E Phantom II AUP (Avionics Upgrade Programme) variants. Although gradual retirement of F-4 units started in 2017, they are still operational in multi-role missions with the 338 Squadron 'Ares' and the 339 Squadron 'Ajax' based in Andravida air force base. The F-4E Phantom II PI2000 (AUP) has been certified for use of GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bombs, making
8624-618: The epics of Homer , ancient Greek literature includes many works of lasting importance in the European canon . Greek is also the language in which many of the foundational texts in science and philosophy were originally composed. The New Testament of the Christian Bible was also originally written in Greek. Together with the Latin texts and traditions of the Roman world , the Greek texts and Greek societies of antiquity constitute
8736-601: The first naval co-operation mission in history, which took place over the Dardanelles . Aided by the Royal Hellenic Navy , destroyer RHNS Velos , 1st Lieutenant Michael Moutoussis and Ensign Aristeidis Moraitinis flew the Farman hydroplane and drew up a diagram of the positions of the Turkish fleet, against which they dropped four bombs. This was not the first air-to-ground attack in military history, as there
8848-579: The first six aircraft could only arrive in Greece by 2022, at the earliest. On 30 June 2022, Greece's prime minister confirmed that the country has sent a request to the United States for the purchase of twenty F-35s, with the option of buying a second group of jets also being examined. The expected delivery date is 2027–2028. On 27 January 2024, it was announced that the USA approved the sale of 40 F-35s to Greece. These will replace ageing aircraft such as
8960-564: The fleet only available in 5th generation fighters such as the F-35 Lightning II . This upgrade was also considered by HAF as an essential first step for future compatibility with the F-35 fighter. Though HAF originally planned to upgrade all of its 123 Block 50/52+/52+ Advanced fighters and leave the Block 30 to receive parts of the upgraded ones, due to lack of funds, HAF decided to proceed with only Block 52+/52+ Advanced. After that,
9072-452: The following periods: In the modern era, the Greek language entered a state of diglossia : the coexistence of vernacular and archaizing written forms of the language. What came to be known as the Greek language question was a polarization between two competing varieties of Modern Greek: Dimotiki , the vernacular form of Modern Greek proper, and Katharevousa , meaning 'purified', a compromise between Dimotiki and Ancient Greek developed in
9184-439: The infinitive entirely (employing a raft of new periphrastic constructions instead) and uses participles more restrictively. The loss of the dative led to a rise of prepositional indirect objects (and the use of the genitive to directly mark these as well). Ancient Greek tended to be verb-final, but neutral word order in the modern language is VSO or SVO. Modern Greek inherits most of its vocabulary from Ancient Greek, which in turn
9296-467: The late 15th century BC, was the first script used to write Greek. It is basically a syllabary , which was finally deciphered by Michael Ventris and John Chadwick in the 1950s (its precursor, Linear A , has not been deciphered and most likely encodes a non-Greek language). The language of the Linear B texts, Mycenaean Greek , is the earliest known form of Greek. Another similar system used to write
9408-588: The membership of Greece and Cyprus in the European Union, Greek is one of the organization's 24 official languages . Greek is recognized as a minority language in Albania, and used co-officially in some of its municipalities, in the districts of Gjirokastër and Sarandë . It is also an official minority language in the regions of Apulia and Calabria in Italy. In the framework of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages , Greek
9520-441: The modern period. The division into conventional periods is, as with all such periodizations, relatively arbitrary, especially because, in all periods, Ancient Greek has enjoyed high prestige, and the literate borrowed heavily from it. Across its history, the syllabic structure of Greek has varied little: Greek shows a mixed syllable structure, permitting complex syllabic onsets but very restricted codas. It has only oral vowels and
9632-645: The new F3-R version, and would replace an equal number of older Mirage 2000EGM aircraft, that had not been previously upgraded to the 2000-5 Mk2 version. Finally in January 2021, the official agreement with Dassault Aviation was ratified in parliament, and included the purchase of six newly built, and twelve 'slightly used' F3-R aircraft in previous service with the Armée de l'Air , for a total cost of €2.4 billion, including their armament and ground support. Theodoros Lagios, Director General of Armament and Investments of
9744-553: The northern Aegean , based at Moudros ( Lemnos ) and Thasos . Moreover, a joint Army-Navy flight school was established at Moudros. The activity of "Z" Squadron included anti-submarine sweeps, attacks against targets of vital importance, as well as dogfights. Among the most significant missions were the night raids against the Gallipoli-Constantinople peninsula in June 1917, the heavy bombings of enemy positions in
9856-399: The noun they modify and relative pronouns are clause-initial. However, the morphological changes also have their counterparts in the syntax, and there are also significant differences between the syntax of the ancient and that of the modern form of the language . Ancient Greek made great use of participial constructions and of constructions involving the infinitive, and the modern variety lacks
9968-536: The objects of study of the discipline of Classics . During antiquity , Greek was by far the most widely spoken lingua franca in the Mediterranean world . It eventually became the official language of the Byzantine Empire and developed into Medieval Greek . In its modern form , Greek is the official language of Greece and Cyprus and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union . It
10080-706: The older periods of Greek, loanwords into Greek acquired Greek inflections, thus leaving only a foreign root word. Modern borrowings (from the 20th century on), especially from French and English, are typically not inflected; other modern borrowings are derived from Albanian , South Slavic ( Macedonian / Bulgarian ) and Eastern Romance languages ( Aromanian and Megleno-Romanian ). Greek words have been widely borrowed into other languages, including English. Example words include: mathematics , physics , astronomy , democracy , philosophy , athletics , theatre, rhetoric , baptism , evangelist , etc. Moreover, Greek words and word elements continue to be productive as
10192-635: The potential of air warfare, suggested that Greece should take advance of this new weapon. The following months a French military mission took up the development of Greek aviation by creating a fleet of four Maurice Farman MF.7 airplanes. In June 1912, aviator Dimitrios Kamperos modified one of the Farmans into a hydroplane, giving it the name of the mythical hero Daedalus . When the Balkan Wars broke out in October 1912, these airplanes performed
10304-564: The sale of eighteen to twenty-four F-35 jets to Greece, during U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to Athens earlier that month. The following month, Greece officially addressed a letter of intent (LoI) to the US Pentagon . In that LoI, Greece even showed interest in acquiring used USAF jets, if that meant initial deliveries could be agreed as early as 2021. According to earlier reports from Greek national daily Estia on 19 October however, an optimistic scenario would mean that
10416-458: The same day, 2nd Lieutenant Marinos Mitralexis having run out of ammunition, aimed the nose of his PZL P.24 right into the tail of an enemy CANT Z.1007bis bomber, smashing the rudder and sending the aircraft out of control. After 65 days of war, the RHAF had lost 31 officers, seven wounded, plus four NCOs killed and five wounded. Meanwhile, the number of combat aircraft had dropped to 28 fighters and 7 battle-worthy bombers. By March 1941,
10528-523: The selection process for the new HAF 5th generation fighter , Greece selected the Lockheed Martin F-35 as a replacement of its older F-16 Block 30s or F-4 Phantoms, and as complementary to the F-16V upgrade programme. The timeline for acquisition of the new aircraft, depended mainly on the country's fiscal plans and Washington's ability to offer a long-term payment framework. At the same time,
10640-437: The stressed vowel; the so-called breathing marks ( rough and smooth breathing ), originally used to signal presence or absence of word-initial /h/; and the diaeresis , used to mark the full syllabic value of a vowel that would otherwise be read as part of a diphthong. These marks were introduced during the course of the Hellenistic period. Actual usage of the grave in handwriting saw a rapid decline in favor of uniform usage of
10752-732: The two-seat torpedo carrier, T3A Velos and the KEA Chelidon , as well as the Armstrong Whitworth Atlas and the Avro 504 . On the other hand, a new Naval Aviation school was established at Tatoi , Attica , in 1926. In 1930 the Air Ministry was founded and the Hellenic Air Force was established as a unified independent branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos
10864-530: The upgrading of the Greek F-16 fleet in 2027. However, reports in September and October 2020, claimed that Greece could receive at least six F-35 jets much earlier, originally built for Turkey before its ouster from the programme, after the latter conducted tests of the S-400 missile systems purchased from Russia . In late-October 2020, it was made public that the United States and Greece had further discussed
10976-437: Was $ 160 million. In addition, some long-awaited programmes were rescheduled for the future. The HAF modernisation programme estimated in 2007 that a purchase of forty-five advance training aircraft, fifteen search and rescue (SAR) helicopters, and forty-to-sixty new fighters was necessary. Some of these programmes were either postponed, or eventually cancelled. The Hellenic Air Force currently possesses several fighter types and
11088-574: Was a distinct dialect of Greek itself. Aside from the Macedonian question, current consensus regards Phrygian as the closest relative of Greek, since they share a number of phonological, morphological and lexical isoglosses , with some being exclusive between them. Scholars have proposed a Graeco-Phrygian subgroup out of which Greek and Phrygian originated. Among living languages, some Indo-Europeanists suggest that Greek may be most closely related to Armenian (see Graeco-Armenian ) or
11200-610: Was a precedent in the Turkish-Italian war of 1911, but the first recorded attack against ships from the air. Initially, the Hellenic Army and the Royal Hellenic Navy operated separate Army Aviation and Naval Aviation units. During the Balkan Wars, various French Henry and Maurice Farman aircraft types were used. The Hellenic Naval Air Service was officially founded in 1914 by the then Commander in Chief (CnC) of
11312-568: Was also used as the official language of government and religion in the Christian Nubian kingdoms , for most of their history. Greek, in its modern form, is the official language of Greece, where it is spoken by almost the entire population. It is also the official language of Cyprus (nominally alongside Turkish ) and the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (alongside English ). Because of
11424-557: Was also used in Ancient Greek. Greek has occasionally been written in the Latin script , especially in areas under Venetian rule or by Greek Catholics . The term Frankolevantinika / Φραγκολεβαντίνικα applies when the Latin script is used to write Greek in the cultural ambit of Catholicism (because Frankos / Φράγκος is an older Greek term for West-European dating to when most of (Roman Catholic Christian) West Europe
11536-515: Was delivered on 25 July 1997. These aircraft, equipped with the LANTIRN navigation and targeting pod, along with AIM-120 AMRAAM and AGM-88 HARM missiles, were allocated to the 341 'Arrow' and 347 'Perseus' squadrons in Nea Anchialos air force base. The basic mission of 341 'Arrow' squadron is Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD). The role of 347 'Perseus' squadron is air-to-ground missions. In 1998, Greece decided, in collaboration with
11648-666: Was escorting on their way to bomb the Turkish battlecruiser Yavuz Sultan Selim (the former German SMS Goeben ) and managed to shoot down three of them. In the following Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 the Naval Aviation formed one squadron, that together with additional four of the Army Aviation Service participated in operations in Asia Minor . This squadron ( Greek : Ναυτική Αεροπορική Μοίρα Σμύρνης ) initially consisted of 10 Airco DH.9 bombers and 15 Sopwith Camel F.1 fighters. The Asia Minor Campaign
11760-693: Was followed by a long period of peace during which both the Hellenic Army and Naval Aviation Services were reorganized and upgraded. From 1925 new types of aircraft of British and, mainly, French manufacture were delivered. At 1925, in co-operation with the British Company Blackburn Aircraft , the State Aircraft Factory (KEA) was set up in Phaleron , near Athens. The factory developed a number of aircraft that were designed by Blackburn Aircraft and built under license, like
11872-475: Was hit and crashed, killing its observer, Pilot Officer Evanghelos Giannaris, the first Greek aviator to die in the war. A second Hs126 was downed over Mount Smolikas , killing Pilot Officer Lazaros Papamichail and Sergeant Constantine Yemenetzis. On 2 November 1940, a Breguet 19 intercepted the 3 Alpine Division Julia while it was penetrating the Pindos mountain range in an attempt to occupy Metsovo . On
11984-427: Was no change in their status, remaining active, although Defense Minister Nikos Dendias has stated that Greek government is interested in selling them. Latest decisions on the 38 Block 50s point out that they are going to be upgraded to Viper standard, giving a total of 121 Vipers instead of the in-base modernization that was planned from spare equipment of Block52+/52+ Advanced. The Greek government has already sent
12096-505: Was officially the first air force in the world to add the F-16 Block 52 Plus to its inventory, since the first aircraft were delivered. This advanced F-16 type is an improved version of the Block 50, featuring a more powerful radar, conformal fuel tanks for longer operational range , advanced communication systems, an upgraded engine, Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), and is capable of carrying more advanced weapons, including
12208-672: Was the air arm of the Hellenic Navy from 1915 to 1930. The first aviation units in the Greek Armed Forces were formed in June 1912. In the subsequent Balkan Wars , the Hellenic Navy was the first in military history to use aircraft to track down and bomb the enemy fleet (1913). The Naval Air Service was officially established during the First World War and participated with the Allies in several missions over
12320-580: Was under the control of the Frankish Empire ). Frankochiotika / Φραγκοχιώτικα (meaning 'Catholic Chiot') alludes to the significant presence of Catholic missionaries based on the island of Chios . Additionally, the term Greeklish is often used when the Greek language is written in a Latin script in online communications. The Latin script is nowadays used by the Greek-speaking communities of Southern Italy . The Yevanic dialect
12432-546: Was undertaken by Dassault Aviation and the Hellenic Aerospace Industry (HAI/EAB). The Mirage 2000-5Mk2 has a new and more powerful radar, improved long range air-to-ground capabilities which includes the SCALP EG cruise missile , a new self-protection system (SPS), a new inertial navigation system (INS), a glass cockpit , and the addition of aerial refuelling capability. Eventually in 2005, HAF
12544-673: Was written by Romaniote and Constantinopolitan Karaite Jews using the Hebrew Alphabet . In a tradition, that in modern time, has come to be known as Greek Aljamiado , some Greek Muslims from Crete wrote their Cretan Greek in the Arabic alphabet . The same happened among Epirote Muslims in Ioannina . This also happened among Arabic-speaking Byzantine rite Christians in the Levant ( Lebanon , Palestine, and Syria ). This usage
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