Hellenic Air Force

Tables of personnel and the organization of the Hellenic Airforce.

PERSONNEL
Permanent staff	11,750
Professional Soldiers	9,250
Conscripts	6.500
TOTAL	27.500

The total number of active personnel is supplemented by a general mobilization with reserves of 30,000 recruits.

AIR FORCE COMPOSITION
Organisation	1 ATA, EKAE, 1st and 2nd AKE, 1st DAY, 1 DAE
Combat Wings	Larissa - 110, Nea Anchialos - 111 , Elefsina - 112 , Thessaloniki - 113 , Tanagra - 114 , Souda - 115 , Araxos - 116 , Andravida - 117 , Kalamata - 120 PEA, Dhekelia - 123 Technical Training Wing, Tripoli - 124 Basic Education Wing, Sedes Thessaloniki - 350 PKV,

The Hellenic Air Force is the third oldest branch of the Greek Armed Forces with the mission of guarding and protecting the Greek airspace from all kinds of violations, the provision of close air support to operations in both the Greek Army and the Greek Navy and at the same time the search and rescue, firefighting, as well as the provision of every possible humanitarian assistance even outside the country's borders when an emergency arises.

The motto of the Hellenic Air Force is "Aen Ypsikratin", which means "Always dominate the heights", a phrase attributed to the Lieutenant Commander Spyros Papaspyros, commander of the Gaza Base Ranking Center, who with this phrase on 5 October 1941 welcomed to Egypt its staff of 335 Squadron, the first Greek Squadron of fighter jets in the Middle East.

Hellenic Air Force inventory

On 12/9/2020, HAF announced the acquisition of 18 French Dassault Rafale fighters, of which twelve (12) used and six (6) of new construction. The used aircrafts are expected to be delivered in 2021, while the new ones will probably be delivered in the first half of 2022. This is the first new type of fighter aircraft for the Hellenic Airforce in 35 years (!) and almost 15 years after the last order for fighter aircraft, namely 30 F-16 C/D Block 52+ Advanced.

ΜΑΧΗΤΙΚΑ	ΜΟΝΑΔΕΣ	ΣΧΟΛΙΑ
Rafale F3R/F4	12/6	On order
F-16C/D Block 52+ Advanced Fighting Falcon	57/26	Upgrading to Block 70-72 Viper [1]
F-16C/D Block 50 Fighting Falcon	31/8
F-16C/D Block 30 Fighting Falcon	28/4
Mirage 2000-5 Mk2	25	10 former M.2000
Mirage 2000 EGM/BGM	16/2	[2]
F-4E Phantom PI 2000	35	Upgraded

CFE ceiling: 650 fighter aircraft (232 today)

[1] In the designation F-16 Block 70/72, “0” is assigned to F-16 equipped with engines from Geleral Electric and "2" for engines built by Pratt & Whitney.

[2] The aircraft will be returned to Dassault when Rafalea become operational.

Upon delivery of all new and upgraded aircraft, the Hellenic Airforce will operate 18 Rafales, 154 F-16C/Ds of various versions, 25 Mirage 2000-5 and 35 F-4E PI2000. The latter are expected to be retired by 2027, creating a significant shortage of fighter jets that should be covered by an additional order of Rafale or F-35s. The acquisition - when finances allow it - of at least 40 Rafales in total should be considered certain, allowing the formation of 2 fully equipped squadrons. Otherwise, the use of this fighter will become uneconomical.

The decision to upgrade the F-16 Block 50 to F-16 Block 50++ Advanced should be considered, as it would reduce diversity in the Air Force and therefore decrease service costs. At the same time, the upgrade cost is estimated at less than 10,000,000 euros per aircraft, when buying a new fighter with at least equivalent capabilities would cost an estimated 60 to 80 million euros. The same reasoning applies to the initiation of a similar upgrade program for the F-16 Block 30, with spare parts taken directly from the above mentioned upgrades (instead of purchasing new ones), thus drastically reducing the investment cost.

ANTI-AIRCRAFT WEAPONRY	UNITS	Comments
RH-202 Rheinmetall (2x20 mm)	326
MIM-104A Patriot PAC-3	36	6 batteries
S-300 PMU-I	12	2 batteries
Crotale NG	9
TOR M-1	4
ARTEMIS-30 (2 x 30 mm)	38
Skyguard III "Velos"	12	Upgraded