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Turkish, Greek warplanes tangle in mock dogfights over Aegean

The Aegean Sea overheated in 2014 because of frequent mock dogfights between Greek and Turkish warplanes, which require serious diplomacy and confidence-building measures to calm down.
A Turkish Air Force F16 jet fighter takes off from an air base during a military exercise in Bandirma, Balikesir province April 9, 2010. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY) - RTR2CLMR
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Turkish military sources speaking to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said the number of mock dogfights between Turkish and Greek warplanes in 2014 has sharply increased compared to 2013. A report by the Greek Ekathimerini news agency confirmed the Turkish accounts. According to the agency, in just the first month of 2014, Turkish jets violated Greek airspace 1,017 times. That is twice the total number of violations in the first six months of 2013.

Perhaps because such news has become routine, reports of mock dogfights between Greek and Turkish warplanes over the Aegean Sea are now listed in the “Daily Activities” section of the official website of Turkey’s chief of general staff. For example, on Dec. 22 the Daily Activities section reported, “Two Greek M-2000/5 warplanes that took off from Greece’s Chios island committed a border violation of two minutes. They locked their radars for three minutes on Turkish warplanes sent to intercept, and Turkish warplanes responded to this harassment in kind.” 

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