Today, Friday, March 20, the multinational air exercise “Charioteer 2026” was completed. The exercise had begun on March 9, with Andravida air base serving as the main hosting unit. According to an announcement from the Hellenic Air Force General Staff, all foreign mission fighter aircraft operated from Andravida air base, while a number of Hellenic Air Force fighters also operated from the 116th Combat Wing.
Read: “Charioteer 2025”: Fighter aircraft flights over Peloponnese and Cyclades
The “Charioteer 2026” exercise
“Charioteer 2026” featured participation from France with M-2000D aircraft, Slovenia with PC-9 aircraft, and Albania with AS-532 helicopters. The Hellenic Air Force participated with all types of its fighter aircraft, helicopters, and transport aircraft. During the exercise, 914 sorties were completed across the entire Athens FIR. Army, Navy, and Special Operations Command forces also participated in the exercise, contributing decisively to creating complex and realistic scenarios, the announcement noted.
Additionally, Poland participated with Special Forces and observers, while Georgia, Serbia, and Croatia participated with observer teams. Throughout the exercise, the announcement added, all types of air missions were executed under an intense combat rhythm, day and night, covering the full spectrum of modern air operations in a series of complex, high-realism scenarios.
Simultaneously, missions were executed using F-16 Tactical Aircraft Simulators from the Operational Synthetic Training Squadron of the Air Tactical Center, extending the exercise into the digital realm, the announcement concluded.
