Turkey says Greece opted ‘hostile action’ against its jets

Turkey claims that Greece engaged in “hostile action” by using a Russian-made missile system to harass its F-16 fighter jets as they were conducting a reconnaissance mission in international airspace.

According to officials in the Turkish defence ministry, the radar of a Greek S-300 missile system stationed on the island of Crete locked on to the Turkish jets on August 23.

The target-tracking radar of the S-300, which was produced in Russia, locked on to the F-16s as they were flying at a height of 3,000 metres (10,000 feet) to the west of Rhodes Island in Greece, according to the report. Despite the hazardous circumstances, the Turkish planes successfully finished their mission and returned to their bases.

According to the NATO rules of engagement, that was “incompatible with the spirit of [NATO] alliance” and amounted to “hostile acts,” Turkish defence ministry sources told the AFP news agency.

Turkish jets successfully completed their intended missions and made it back to their base without incident despite this hostile conduct.

This is Turkey’s most recent accusation that Greece, a neighbour and fellow NATO member, has been shooting down its planes over the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean Sea.

NATO’s rules of engagement classify radar lock-ons as hostile acts.

Sources in the Greek defence ministry denied the accusations. According to the sources, Greece’s S-300 missile system has never locked onto Turkish F-16 aircraft, according to state-run Ert television.

After Greek F-16s allegedly harassed Turkish F-16s participating in a NATO mission last week, Turkey summoned the Greek military attache and lodged a complaint with the alliance.

According to Anadolu, Greek pilots placed a radar lock over Turkey’s aircraft over the Eastern Mediterranean. Without going into any detail, Anadolu reported that Turkey “provided the proper response” and ordered the jets to leave the region.

The Turkish account of the events was rejected by Greece. According to the defence ministry, five Turkish aircraft suddenly emerged to escort a US B-52 bomber mission through a zone under Greek flight control although none had been scheduled to do so.

Four Greek fighters were reportedly scrambled and chased away from the Turkish aircraft, and Athens also reported the incident to NATO and US authorities.