F-4E Phantoms at our nearby range for
electronic warfare missions and to attack
GBAD systems and to fly air-to-air missions
against Turkish F-16s on the last day of
exercise, while the USAFE requested its
afternoon training to concentrate on low-
level flying alongside the Turkish Air Force.’It’s a wrap
In total, 389 sorties were flown during
the two weeks and the signs were that
‘Anatolian Eagle’ remains a meaningful
test of the aircrews, with some relative
newcomers in the shape of the JF-17s able
to take a lot away from the experience. The
geographic positioning of Turkey means
that participating air arms with very
different procedures and methodologies
are able to come together and reap
the benefits. ‘I love meeting all of our
international partners,’ said Maj Allison
Mandas, a Weapons Systems Officer with
the F-15Es of the 494th FS. ‘Exercises such
as this provide an opportunity to share
lessons learned, tactics and techniques so
that we all have a shared operating picture
for when conflict arises.’
Another ‘Panther’, 1st Lt Mike Nunez,
added: ‘It’s been exciting to see the way
they’ve looked at a tactical problem and
then solved it — in just as valid a way as
we would do it in the USAF, but perhaps
employing a different method. It makes
me confident that we can address any
crisis that arises based on how well we
come together at exercises like this.’GROUND-
BASED AIR
DEFENSE
During the two weeks of exercise,
the scenarios were deliberately
varied and changeable. The threats,
in addition to the air component
provided by eight F-16C/Ds of the
local 132 Filo, included some fairly
ancient systems such as SA-6
‘Gainful’, SA-8 ‘Gecko’ and SA-11
‘Gadfly’, plus some more modern
systems such as the SA-10 ‘Grumble’
and SA-15 ‘Gauntlet’.Foreign participants included three
F-16AM/BMs from the Royal Jordanian
Air Force, five JF-17 Thunders from the
Pakistan Air Force’s No 28 ‘Phoenix’
Squadron, three AMX from the Italian Air
Force’s 51° Stormo, six US Air Force F-15E
Strike Eagles from RAF Lakenheath’s 494th
Fighter Squadron (FS) ‘Panthers’, a single
C-130J and C-17A Globemaster III from
the Qatar Emiri Air Force and one NATO
E-3 AWACS.
Unlike previous ‘Anatolian Eagles’,
where the typical day included two
missions — ‘Eagle 01’ and ‘Eagle 02’ —
this year only saw a morning COMAO,
with afternoons dedicated to training
customized according to particular needs.
Maj Tümer said: ‘For example, the Italian
Air Force asked to fly and train with Turkish
Above: A Royal
Jordanian Air
Force (RJAF)
F-16BM flares
for landing with
speed brakes
open. Giovanni
Colla
Left: The
unmistakeable
lines of the F-4E-- Just one
squadron in the
THK still operates
these magnificent
beasts, although
this example
retains the
markings of 171
Filo ‘Korsan’.
Rich Cooper
EXERCISE REPORT // ‘ANATOLIAN EAGLE’
42 September 2019 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net
38-42 Anatolian Eagle c.indd 42 18/07/2019 13:45