INIOCHOS - THE CHARIOTEER
The term INIOCHOS in Greek identifies the charioteer, or the one who drove the chariot of the Spartan warriors who populated the Peloponnese in ancient times; today, ideally, it represents the one who coordinates and manages the different components of a modern air force that cooperate with each other and act together successfully.
The INIOCHOS air exercise took place for the first time in the late 1980s; since then it has gradually become established as the main national air combat exercise with the aim of training personnel in the planning and execution of COMAO (Composite Air Operations - Joint Air Operations), in accordance with the operational employment doctrines of the HAF, NATO and the national defense plans established for the Armed Forces of the Hellenic State.
Since November 2013, there have been important changes in the organizational structure of INIOCHOS; in particular, the transformation from an event limited to Hellenic flying units only to a medium-sized international exercise by invitation (INVITEX), with of all the main flight components deployed at Andravida AB (North-Western Peloponnese).
This last INIOCHOS air-exercise is considered the largest edition ever in terms of number of participants with more than 1300 sorties conducted. This year saw for the first time the participation of USAF aircraft from CONUS (Continental USA) with the F-16C/Ds Block 30 of the 93rd Fighter Squadron "Makos" (482nd FW - tail code FM) from Homestead ARB in Florida. Some of these machines were in the new dark grey livery called "HAVE GLASS". The USAF also participated with a pair of KC-135Rs of the 459th Air Refueling Wing, operating from Elefsina AB. Another "first" was the presence of the four F-15QAs ABABIL (peregrine falcon) of Fighter Wing 5 of the Qatar Emiri Air Force. The most traditional NATO participants to INIOCHOS 2025 were six French Mirage 2000Ds, four Spanish F/A-18A+ Hornets from Gando Air Base (Gran Canaria), six Italian Tornados, two Slovenian PC-9s and four Polish F-16Cs.
Not new to INIOCHOS -but always interesting- were the participation of the Bharatiya Vayu Sena (IAF - Indian Air Force) which sent in four of its powerful Sukhoi Su-30MKI-3 FLANKER of the 8th Squadron "EIGHT PURSUITS" stationed at Bareilly AFS. Also the United Arab Emirates AF took part with the Mirage 2000-9EAD/DADs of the 1st Fighter Wing of Al Dhafra.
The HAF participated with all its tactical assets, starting from the old F-4E-AUP Phantom IIs from Andravida AB that played roles in the Red Air, to the more recent F-16C/Ds and Vs of the various units up to the Mirage 2000-5s and the new Rafale R3s from Tanagra AB. The presence of this type means that 332 MPK (332. Squadron) has reached full operational capacity status, having received all 24 of the original order (six RAFALE DG two-seaters and eighteen RAFALE EG single-seaters), and can also count on a good number of pilots certified Combat Ready or Limited CR.
The aim of INIOCHOS is to provide participants with adequate air combat training that is as realistic and high quality as possible and to ensure accurate and reliable collection of flight data from each mission. All participating forces operate under the command of the Chief of the Tactical Air Force of the HAF and are controlled by the Commander of the Air Tactics Center.
INIOCHOS is conducted following a dynamic program and scenario. In each edition, the host enriches the program and events of the exercise, taking into account the comments, suggestions and criticisms of the participating air forces.
INOCHOS offers participants the most realistic and challenging scenarios possible, together with the ability to ensure high-level training, while operating in a multinational environment. Having the opportunity to operate in complex environments with a large number of forces, each component has the opportunity to promote its tactical initiative by minimizing the reaction time in any given situation and rapidly modifying the scenario in order to obtain the best use of friendly forces.