Greek surface-to-air missiles locked on Turkish F-16 fighter jets on a reconnaissance mission in international airspace, according to Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency. The claim is Turkey’s latest claim that its neighbor and fellow NATO member Greece is targeting its aircraft over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea. The radar of a Greek S-300 missile system based on the island of Crete was locked on to Turkish aircraft on Tuesday, Anadolu reported on Sunday, citing defense ministry sources. The F-16s were at an altitude of 3,000 meters (10,000 feet) west of the Greek island of Rhodes when the Russian-made S-300 target tracking radar locked on, the report added. The Turkish aircraft completed their mission and returned to their bases “despite the hostile environment”. Radar jamming is considered a hostile action under NATO rules of engagement. Greek Ministry of Defense sources rejected the claims. “Greece’s S-300 missile system never locked on the Turkish F-16 jets,” the sources said, according to state broadcaster Ert.
High tensions
Last week, Turkey summoned the Greek military attaché and filed a complaint with NATO after Greek F-16s allegedly harassed Turkish F-16s on a mission for the alliance. Anadolu reported that Greek pilots put the Turkish jet under radar lock over the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey “gave the necessary response” and forced the aircraft to leave the area, Anadolu said, without elaborating. Greece rejected the Turkish version of events. The Defense Ministry told him that five Turkish jets had appeared without warning to escort a flight of US B-52 bombers – which were not to be escorted by fighters – through an area under Greek flight control. It said four Greek fighter jets pursued and pursued the Turkish jets, adding that Athens had informed NATO and US authorities about the incident. Although both are members of NATO, Turkey and Greece have decades-long disagreements over a range of issues, including territorial claims in the Aegean Sea and disputes over airspace there. Disputes have brought them to the brink of war three times in the past half century. Tensions flared in 2020 over exploratory drilling rights in areas of the Mediterranean, where Greece and Cyprus claim exclusive economic zones, leading to a naval standoff. Turkey has accused Greece of violating international agreements by militarizing islands in the Aegean Sea. Athens says it needs to defend the islands – many of which are close to Turkey’s coast – against a possible attack by Turkey’s large fleet of military landing craft. Turkey says Greece is stationing troops on Aegean islands in violation of peace treaties signed after World Wars I and II. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has cut off dialogue with Greece after claiming Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis lobbied against US arms sales to his country.
