
Although Zeus is well known outside Greece, while performing at many airshows throughout Europe, most of the Hellenic military aircraft are not. The place to see a variety of Hellenic military aircraft and helicopters is Tanagra Air Base during the twelfth edition of the Athens Flying Week which was held on 14 and 15 September.

The Royal Saudi Air Force’s aerobatic team, the Saudi Hawks, performed with their BAE Systems Hawk Mk.65s for the last time over Tanagra. The team will transition to the Hawk Mk.165 over the next two years. The first Hawk Mk.165 sporting the new Saudi Hawks livery was unveiled during the World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last February.

The Royal Saudi Air Force also performed demonstrations with two different Typhoons operated by 80 Squadron. One of the Typhoons sporting an overall green livery, representing the national flag.

Special operation Forces executed several tactical scenarios with a variety of helicopters which included the NH90TTH, CH-47SD Chinook and the, still going strong, AB-205A Huey. On Sunday, the AS332 Super Puma concluded the demonstration with the simulated rescue of an aircrew in a hostile environment. An AH-64A+ performed a regular display as the official Hellenic Army Apache Display Team. The OH-58D Kiowa could only be seen on static display.




In March 2024, the Hellenic Navy added the first three MH-60R Seahawks to their fleet. Two of them could be seen at Tanagra, one on static display while the second one performed a flying demonstration. The remaining four MH-60Rs on order will be delivered in 2025. The MH-60R Seahawks are an addition to the eleven S-70Bs based at Kotroni Naval Air Station from which one S-70B also could be seen during a tactical demonstration.

No less than three M-346s could be seen at Tanagra. The M-346 advanced trainer aircraft replaced the T-2 Buckeys at the Hellenic Air Force International Flight Training Center at Kalamata, Greece.

All types of Hellenic fighter jets participated in the airshow, from the homebased Mirage 2000-5BGs to F-4E(AUP) Phantoms performing an airbase attack demonstration and a simulated dogfight between the Rafale and a F-16. French Rafales performed a display as team Requin Mike. The Swiss PC-7 Team and the Patrulla Águila from Spain could be seen here as well.

History soared through the sky when Spitfire LF IX, serial MJ755, performed a display. MJ755 was built in 1943 and flew for the last time in 1953. After a collaboration between the Hellenic Air Force and the IKARUS Foundation, the airframe was restored to flying conditions in 2020.
