Posted on 11/18/2004 8:46:35 PM PST by Destro
LEADERSHIP: Why Greek And Turk Fighter Pilots are Different
November 18, 2004: Greece and Turkey, two long time members of NATO, have very similar weapons and equipment. They are also the only two NATO allies that have threatened to go to war with each other over the last fifty years. With that in mind, the two nations have taken interestingly different approaches to recruiting and training pilots for their jet fighters. The Greeks have gone for having fewer, but more experienced, pilots. Greece actually has fewer pilots than it needs in some squadrons, while the Turks have 25 to 40 percent more pilots than planes. This is more normal these days, as the aircraft can handle more sorties per day than the pilots can. The Greek pilots fly over 40 percent more hours annually than the Turks. Still, the quantity advantage is definitely to the Turks, who have over 240 F-16 pilots, versus only about 60 Greek ones. Greece also has other fighter types, but is outnumbered by the Turks about two to one.
This quality strategy does make some sense. It’s unlikely that there would ever be a full blown war between the two countries, as their NATO allies would pry them apart quickly. More likely are a few air-to-air incidents, where the skill levels of a few pilots would make an enormous difference. Militarily, such victories would not mean much, but politically, the payoff for the winner would be considerable.
I would worry about one of those Greek figher pilots trying to get on my six.
That deserves a one way ticket. I should be ashamed of myself for laughing out loud. :)
BTTT
That was bad.
Aren't Turks backdoor prone, also?
I thought it was us Americans - with all our gay marriages and such. We even have a whole city devoted to gays.
Of late,the Greeks have been having a technological edge over Turkey.In addition to new F-16s,they also operate the French built Mirage-2005 Mk2s which carry the potent MICA AAM & Scalp Stand off missiles.They have also purchased the 'Erieye' AEW system from Sweden & are being touted as a possible customers for the Eurofighter Typhoon.To add to this,Cyprus(aligned with Greece) has pretty decent air defense systems itself.
Can build and buy planes faster than you can train new pilots.
That is what the Arabs tell the Israelis, too.
In the intitial stage of a conflict, it is planes in the air that count. Pilots back at the base watching TV aren't affecting the outcome one whit.
I'll take the experienced pilots, and use them to remove the opposing air force. I'll send a bus later to pick up their grounded pilots for internment.
I guess Boyd's OODA not yet in Turkish...too bad for them.
I'll put my money on the Greeks.
Only a week ago I was speaking with a Greek about the Greek/Turk fighter plane confrontations. I remarked to him I thought the Turk pilots would generally win dogfights over the Greeks.
His reply was no Greek could see anything worth dying for. He seemed genuinely proud of this.
He was a civilian, but depending on how deeply this same rot goes through the Greek Air Force, the other factors in this article may not matter much.
The Turks have been having a very extensive military relationship with Israel(which has cooled off a bit since the Iraq war,though).Israel has upgraded a lot of Turkey's weapon systems including it's F-4s(Which it upgraded to the Phantom-2000 standard) & also sold Popeye-2 cruise missiles to it.This is in addition to joint training.Turkey is easily the most powerful nation in the Middle East & Aegean,not counting Israel.
During the Second World War, the Japanese went with the more experienced pilot plan versus the overwhelming numbers tactic. As the war wore on, and the Japanese began losing more and more experienced pilots, filling the gap became a difficult task. Instead of Japanese pilots having three or four years of flight time, it was down to under six months by the end of the conflict. The American fighter aces cleared the skies en route to Japan, just as the Americans did on thier way to Berlin.
Get over it.
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