Footage from the cockpit of a Greek Mirage fighter jet locking onto two Turkish F-16s has been released by Greek authorities, with the air force accusing the Turkish warplanes reportedly harassing a helicopter carrying Greek Minister of National Defense Nikos Panagiotopoulos and General Konstantinos Floros.
The dramatic video highlights rising tensions between Greece and Turkey that resulted in the dangerous incident over the Aegean Sea.
In the video, one of the Greek pilots chasing the Turkish F-16 says “I got him” while he tries to intercept the Turkish jet, according to SKAI.
The dogfight occurred over the Eastern Aegean islands of Agathonisi and Oinousses
While violating Greece’s airspace, Turkish pilot is shown in the video trying to lose the Greek fighter with erratic and evasive maneuvers.
While such incidents with Turkish jets violating the Greek airspace occur on a daily basis, it is very rare for the Greek military to make the video public.
Turkish incursions into Greek airspace saw a dramatic increase following Turkey’s decision to tell the estimated 4 million migrants inside the country that the borders to Europe were open. Turkish warplanes have been recorded violating Greece’s airspace on hundreds of occasions in the last two months.
According to SKAI, the footage was likely released due to Turkey’s actions of harassing top government and military officials being transported in a Greek helicopter.
