The Israeli Air Force held a joint exercise with the Greek Air Force over Greece last Thursday, which included 40 Israeli fighter jets from ten squadrons, including refueling and transport aircraft and dozens of air crews, the IDF Spokesperson reported Monday. The training exercise was executed entirely in the air, without landing, and included two daylight sorties.
“As part of the corps’ drill, we just returned from a long-term training exercise in Greece,” commander of Squadron 105, Lt. Col. R., reported. “My squadron took part, along with the entire Air Force, in training that went far away from home to unfamiliar territory, to carry out a precise and defined mission under very challenging conditions.”
“The flight was successful and was based on our preliminary capabilities and on precise and detailed planning. Our ability to take all our units and fly a great distance, perform a task and return, is substantial, and we are ready to carry it out whenever we are so ordered.”
In that context, the distance between Tel Aviv, Israel, and Tehran, Iran, as the crow flies is 988 miles. The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon can fly more than 500 miles without refueling.