NATO Tiger Meet Exercise Accomplished with 80 Aircraft & Participation of 13 Countries

This year's NATO Tiger Meet (NTM 2023) exercise was hosted by the 12° Gruppo at Gioia Del Colle Air Base in Italy. The 192nd "Tiger" Squadron, representing the Turkish Air Force, participated in the exercise, held from October 2-13, 2023, with three F-16 aircraft and 49 personnel. The NATO Tiger Meet 2023 Exercise was attended by 80 aircraft of different types and 2,000 personnel, with the participation of Germany, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Czech Republic, France, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Türkiye, Greece, and NATO.

192 Squadron was established in 1948 as 102 Fighter Bombing Squadron at Balikesir, Türkiye, operating then the P-47 Thunderbolt. They adopted the Tiger in their patch in 1950. In 1952 the Squadron was named 192 Squadron and receives the F-84. Between 1952 and 1970 they flew the F-84 F/G and the RF-84 F Thunderstreak, in Attack and Reconnaissance missions. The RF-5 were flown between 1970 and 1975. 

On September 1976 they converted to the F-104, with the mission of defending the Turkish air space. They get more responsibilities, between 1984 and 1988, when they become one of the "All Weather" Squadrons assigned to NATO. 

On March 1993 40 F-16 C/D arrived at Balıkesir, and the squadron gets Air-to-Ground added to their mission. 192 Squadron became a member of NATO Tiger Society in 1980, and has organized and hosted a NTM 1995 in Balıkesir and NTM 2005 in Konya. In 1994 and 1997 this Squadron was deployed to Italy to take part in the peacekeeping operations over Bosnia.

The NATO Tiger Association was established in 1961 by French Defense Minister Pierre Messmer with the goal of promoting solidarity among NATO Air Forces. The first Tiger Meet was hosted by the 79th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the United States Air Force in Europe at RAF Woodbridge Air Base in England. The event saw the participation of EC (Fighter Squadron) 1/12 Cambresis of the French Air Force and No. 74 Squadron of the Royal Air Force. In 1962, the Tiger Meet had significantly expanded, drawing participation from eight squadrons. 

The event encompassed more than just airborne activities; a comprehensive flight program and a series of conferences were organized, addressing various issues and activities within the scope of NATO operations. Social engagements were also a key focus, including receptions and dinners for both air and ground crews. At the concluding dinner, SHAPE Air Deputy General Anderson was the guest of honor, emphasizing the significance of the Tiger Meet to top commanders. In his speech, General Anderson articulated, perhaps for the first time, the core aims and objectives of the Tiger Meet: fostering NATO solidarity, cultivating and strengthening professional relationships among NATO personnel, and advancing a deeper comprehension of NATO's military objectives.

The exchange of experiences and cooperation in line with the military goals of NATO, since 1962 Tiger Meets evolved into a first-class military exercise where the participants fly combined missions encompassing the entire spectrum of military operations. Alongside low flying emphasis is placed on air to air refueling, air combat, the use of weapon ranges, etc... The exchange of experiences between aircrews is not to be underestimated. For countries that cannot afford to participate in large `flag exercises` in North America, 'Tiger Meet' is one of the few multinational exercises available. In view of the changing world security situation, participation is becoming ever more important.

On a typical Tiger Meet flying program you will find all possible combat training. Due to the growing helicopter force within the Tigers and their heavy use in today’s conflicts, they are integrated within the mission as Forward Air Controllers, insertion and extraction of ground forces, or in a CSAR role. Besides their work within the COMAO's the helicopter force often practices with local army (special) forces.

Whenever possible, Tiger Meets are incorporated into larger scale exercises like Clean Hunter 01, Anatolian Eagle, and Daring Eagle 02. During an average 2-week Tiger meet not less than 800 sorties are typically flown by the Tigers. No need to say that people involved in mission planning and aircraft maintenance also have a busy working schedule.

So what's the program of a typical 12-day NATO Tiger Meet? Well it all starts of with the arrival of the participants, briefings, some flying (yes,even that first day) and an opening ceremony where all flags are raised till the last day. In the morning most participants fly local missions among each other (called Shadow Waves), while in the afternoon the COMAO's are flown. No need to say that all these missions are carefully planned, briefed, executed and debriefed. At some Meets the COMAOs are flown in the morning. This schedule is followed for most of the flying days. By the end of the first OPS week it is time to tighten social strengths between all participating units. It is during these days that the well-known Tiger Games are executed. Tiger Games are mainly a mix of fun and sports. After a second week of even more intense training missions), the Tiger Meet is always closed by lowering the flags, and on that last evening, the traditional farewell party is held and various awards are handed out, of which the Silver Tiger Trophy is the most important one.

The Silver Tiger Trophy

The Silver Tiger story started in 1977, when the Tiger Meet was hosted for the first time by the International Air Tattoo at RAF Greenham Common. As an old tradition in the military community, at the end of the meeting there is an exchange of presents, and at this event a precious tiger made of silver was donated to the tiger community by London silversmith Mappin & Webb upon the request of the director of the R.A.F. Benevolent Fund, The late Paul Bowen.

This silver tiger soon became a trophy to be awarded during tiger meets, the winner would keep it until the next edition of a full flying tiger meet and is then honoured to stick a little silver tag with the date his unit won the trophy on the wooden base of the trophy for all to see in perpetuity.

At this year's Tiger Meet, the German Air Force's 74th Wing received the silver tiger award with their Eurofighter Typhoons.

Besides the Silver Tiger, the Bavarians also received the award for best painted Tiger Aircraft.