Anatolian Eagle 2022
In June 2022, I went for the first time to the Anatolian Eagle military exercise at the Konya Air Base which is located in central Turkey. Konya is home to the 3rd Air Wing of the 1st Air Force Command of the Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri). In 2001, the Turkish Air Force organized an Anatolian Eagle exercise for the first time after which this major international military exercise became the European counterpart to Red Flag at Nellis Air Force Base in the United States. Airspace for Anatolian Eagle is 381 km from east to west and 285 km from north to south and is one of the largest military training areas in the world. The main operations' airspace, also known as the Salt Area, can be used from ground level up to 50,000 feet. The objectives of the Anatolian Eagle exercise is to increase the operational training level of the pilots and air defense personnel in a most realistic operational environment and to exercise and develop joined and combined operational procedures. It gives fighter pilots also a chance to execute their planned tactics to employ in large force compositions and to exchange ideas. During the exercise 274 sorties were flown and all the objectives and goals were met well before the end of the exercise period itself.
Because this exercise does not take place far from the Middle East, it always attracts interesting participants. During the 2022 edition of Anatolian Eagle, aircraft and ground personnel participated in this exercise coming from Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Jordan and the UK. There were also dozens of observers present from South Africa, Georgia and Malaysia, among others. The most notable participants in this edition of Anatolian Eagle were some Sukhoi Su-25 'Frogfoot' attack aircraft of the Azerbaijani Air Forces. This remarkable aircraft was designed and built by the Soviet Union and played an important role in numerous military conflicts in recent decades. Other participants in the Anatolian Eagle 2022 exercise included F-16 fighter jets from the No. 11 Squadron of the Pakistan Air Force and from the 1st Squadron of the Royal Jordanian Air Force. The United Kingdom also attended this exercise with four Eurofighter Typhoons that came from No. 3 Squadron of RAF Coningsby. Host country Turkey participated with as many as 28 F-16 fighter jets and 1 Boeing E-7 Wedgetail airborne early warning and control aircraft. Also deployed during the Anatolian Eagle 2022 exercise for the first time was a Baykar Bayraktar Akıncı high-altitude long-endurance (HALE) unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) of the Turkish Air Force. As Konya is also the home of the famous Solo Türk F-16 solo display team, the team performed a powerful show during the spotters day.
A big thank you to the public relations department of the Konya Air Base/Anatolian Eagle Training Centre and the Turkish Air Face for organizing the amazing spottersday!
Text: Kris Christiaens
Photos: Kris Christiaens
