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 Anatolian Eagle 2014-2

Karo-Aviation visit Konya airbase for Anatolian Eagle 2014-2
Article and pictures by Rolph Klijn and Ronald de Roij

Train the way you fight, because you will fight the way you have been trained is a lesson learned from the Vietnam war on. During the Vietnam war it became clear that training in a real combat situation would result in a better performance in a real war. Today this is one of the key statements still applicable for joint exercises as Anatolian Eagle.

But the scenery has changed ,when you look at the past NATO allies had to fight together against a well-defined enemy. In today's changing world a different kind of training environment is necessary  as the well-defined enemy is a thing of the past. Most operations these days are in big coalition forces consisting of forces from all over the world. For example in the recent intervention in Libya and also in different peace keeping missions.

Therefore the norm is increasingly towards coalition operations in which understanding your coalition partners, their capabilities and their tactics is all important. Equally as important is the forging of personal relationships during exercises which are so important when coalition forces are called on for operations.

 
         
           
 
 
 

Anatolian Eagle

The exercise Anatolian Eagle was initiated in 2001, to simulate air warfare scenarios in the context of national and multinational training. The Anatolian Eagle (AE) Training Centre was built at 3rd Main Jet Base at Konya, located in Central Anatolia in Turkey.

It sits on the periphery of the vast Konya plain, a sparsely populated flat basin, an ideal location for a complex air exercise. The extensive dedicated training area for AE was established between 1998 and 2001 and the air training area measures 100 miles in length and 95 miles in width.

Turkey has held three to four AE exercises every year from 2001 to today, with a mix of participants from both the West (eight NATO partners have already participated) and the East, including Jordan, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E. and  perhaps more surprisingly Israel.
 Testimony to the success of Anatolian Eagle are the many framed pictures of units that participated. Many with a handwritten thank you on it.  Almost forty AE exercises took place since 2001, with thirteen countries participating, besides the host nation.

By now, AE has grown into one of the largest and most complex joint air force exercises in the world, paralleled only by Red Flag, held periodically at Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base, and the annual Maple Flag exercise in Canada. Within ten years, the Turkish Air Force has grown into a level where it is able to perform on par with most and train air forces of other countries.

The F-4E 2020s which were modernized by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) optimized for the long range precision strike. Equipped with an extremely powerful Elta EL/M-2032 radar and Popeye I precision guided missile as well as GBU-10/12 Paveway laser guided bombs, AGM-65 Maverick television guided missiles. They are still an formidable force to take in account during the exercise.
 
         
           
 

The base scenario consists of an attack by the BLUE team through a Combined Air Operation (COMAO) on the tactical and strategic targets in RED-lands which are being defended by RED force fighter aircraft and SAM systems. During the exercise, NATO E-3 AWACS and Turkish Air Force Boeing 737 AEW&C Peace Eagle aircraft gave command and control support to BLUE forces while land-based radar systems supported the RED forces. From the base scenario, more complexity is added throughout the two training weeks, such as tighter operating envelopes, higher threat levels and reduced preparation time.

During the exercise the missions are flown in ever more complex formations in one morning wave and an afternoon wave. Each wave consisting of about 50 aircraft. During the exercise air refuelling and slow movers are provided by the Turkish Air Force in the form of KC-135 tankers and C-130 Hercules and CASA 235 tactical transport.

The mission takes place in a large piece of segregated airspace so training can take place without the usual concerns  of the congested European airspace. Which means there is a much saver training environment and al the effort can by focused on the training. it’s generic scenario is a scenario with ‘Blue’ forces against ‘Red’ forces. The Red forces are the opposition provided by Turkish Air Force dedicated aggressor squadrons and it normally takes the form of about fifty fighter aircraft. The fight lasts about thirty minutes and it’s very intense.

Some of the key aims of Anatolian Eagle that were outlined during the exercise included:

•To systematically test and evaluate the fighters' combat readiness statuses and to output tactical training needs and plan exercises accordingly for efficiency.
•Manage tactical training progress
•Build a background and knowledge base in order to research tactical aeronautics
•Conduct research to allow fighter elements of the Turkish Air Force Command to reach the military goals in the shortest time and with minimum resource and effort
•Support the definition of operational requirements, supply, and research and development activities
•Allocate training environment in order to fulfil the requirements of the Turkish Air Force Command
•Support tests of existing/developed/future weapon/aircraft systems
 

This year’s multination Anatolian Eagle ran from the 9th of June to the 20th and was attended by

Nation Aircraft No Units
Jordan F-16AM/BM 3 1st Squadron
Nato E-3A 1 NAEWF
Qatar Mirage 2000-5EDA/DDA 4 7th air superiority squadron
Spain EF-18M/BM 6 ALA 12
  EF-2000 6 ALA 14
Turkey F-16C/D 40+ 132,141,143,151,152
  various blocks   161,162,182,191,192 Filo
  F-4E 2020 11 111,171 Filo
  KC-135R 1 101 Filo
  C-160D 1 221 Filo
  CN235 1 211 Filo
  Boeing 737 AEW&C 1 131 Filo
United Kingdom Typhoon FGR4 6 3,11 Squadron

Bringing different types of aircraft with different roles and of different ages gives great training value for all involved.
Of course with Turkey being the host it contributed the largest part with almost 60 aircraft.

 
 

First time participation

This year there were two firsts for AE. One was Turkey's newest airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft called Barış Kartalı (Eagle of Peace), in its first participation in an international exercise. Based on the Boeing 737-700 commercial airplane, the Peace Eagle AEW&C aircraft is equipped with Northrop Grumman-built multi-role electronically scanned array antenna with integrated identification friend-or-foe (IFF) capabilities.
Enabling the Turkish air force simultaneously to track airborne and maritime targets and at the same time
direct the control of fighter aircraft in the area. An additional two AEW&C aircraft are scheduled to be handed over to Turkish air force this year, while delivery of the fourth will take place in 2015.

On the other hand  it was the  Qatar's Air force first time in AE, participating with the Mirage 2000 operated by the 7th Air Superiority Squadron, which operates 9  single-seat and  3 twin-seat Mirage 2000. At the moment the Qatar Air force  expanded its forces with C-130 and C-17 aircraft and is planning for an acquisition of 72 fighter aircraft.

With the participating in AE and its recent deployment of aircraft during the Libya operation,
Qatar now is utilizing its oil and gas dollars to not only greatly enhance its own defences, but also to enable it to play a much larger part in multinational peacekeeping operations

 

 

Qatar has a small fighter force off just 12 Dassault Mirage 2000s, these aircraft rarely leave the country one of the first times was during the crisis in Libya and now during Anatolian Eagle 2014.
Its participation in this exercise allowed photographers to get up close to these rarely seen aircraft.
 
         
           

Having this training facility, it does not stop with the international Anatolian Eagle exercise. During the year other Anatolian Eagle exercise’s are held. Some with only Turkish participation and some with just one foreign participant like the one planned for this autumn in which the Pakistan Air Force will participated.

Next to the Anatolian Eagle exercise others are held at Konya, like a CSAR exercise that started at the day Anatolian Eagle 2014-2 ended. As CSAR is not an "working hours" job the exercise started on Saturday. Foreign participants were the Spanish Air Force with a CN235 from Ala35 and the USAF with a MC130 from 67SOS. The Turks participated with a mixed bag of helicopters (the venerable UH1, the UH60 and the Super Puma/Cougher) from the air force, the army and the Jandarma.

All in all Konya air base and its Anatolian Eagle staff present a very professional team for big joint air exercises. Giving the international fighter pilot community an challenging environment for expert training in a fast chancing world.

Karo-Aviation would like to thank the Turkish Air Force staff for our permission to attend Anatolian Eagle 2014-2. And to all the staff present at Konya Air Base for their warm welcome and hospitality.


 
 

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