Tigers in Gioia del Colle

This EF-2000 Typhoon from the German 74th Squadron was awarded the best adorned Tiger aircraft.

Text: Jaroslav Špaček Senior NTA Advisor

Photos by Uli Metternich, Katsuhiko Tokunaga, Remo Guidi.

Thirty-five years after the Tigers last met in Italy at the base in Camari, Gruppo XII,, they again hosted the annual NATO Tiger Meet, this time armed with Eurofighters. This is part of the historic 36° Stormo,  the 36th Wing, whose history dates back to just before the Second World War, when it was established at Milan on February 1st, 1938. A total of 21 squadrons from 14 countries participated in this year's NTM with a total of 67 combat aircraft, 9 helicopters and 4 support machines, namely KC-130J and KC-767 aircraft, AWACS from the 1st NATO Squadron out of Geilenkirchen, and a GFD Learjet for the simulation of threats in the framework of radio electronic warfare. Here, we take a look a the most interesting participants in the following photo report.

 The organizing unit Gruppo XII was already established in May, 1917 at the Belluno airfield and has been using the prancing horse emblem ever since. It can use tiger symbolism because its 351st Squadriglia has a white tiger in its emblem. This also leads to the whole unit being proudly called ‘Tigri Bianche’. The EF-2000 Typhoon aircraft have been used by the squadron since 2007. For this year, the unit has prepared its flagship aircraft with an attractive tiger motif on the tail and on the upper surfaces of the wing and, of course, on the canard surfaces. Noteworthy are the green eye on the left and blue on the right, the Italian national insignia only on the left wing and the inscription LEONARDO.

 The other Italian unit that is a member of the NTA (NATO Tiger Association) is Gruppo 21, which is based at Grazanissa. In its arsenal, the old Agusta-Bell 212 helicopters were replaced last year with the modern three-engine AW-101 Merlin modified for Combat SAR missions, which is called the HH-101A Caesar. The history of this unit is more than interesting. It was established on May 25th, 1918, and for a long time it was a ‘winged’ squadron (a unit using fixed wing aircraft). From 1963, it was based at Cameri Airport and was armed with the F-104 Starfighter of various versions until 1996. It was then re-armed with leased British Tornado F.3 aircraft. On July 29th, 1999, the squadron moved to Gioia del Colle Air Base, where it was disbanded on March 1st, 2001 and it was this squadron that was the ‘real’ Italian Tiger squadron... However, it was subsequently reactivated on March 23rd, 2006 at Grazanisse to become a purely helicopter unit armed with the above-mentioned rescue AB-212COs. This photograph of the machine before sunset shows one of the first helicopters delivered, which were black in colour, while newer acquisitions have been delivered in grey.

 Representing the Czech Republic, the 211th Tactical Squadron from Čáslav took part in this year's exercise, which arrived with four single-seat JAS-39Cs, including a newly painted (actually ‘defoliated’, as it were) aircraft coded 9244 "Cyber Tiger". The quartet was complemented by a fifth, two-seat airframe. Due to the large size of the operating space, displays were conducted in pairs, with the, and the two place version with a trio of drop tanks. Detail of the  tail on ‘Cyber Tiger’, showing the open door of the APU.

 ‘Cyber Tiger’ in flight. The design of this year's coloring was created with the help of AI, and the execution was by way of painted adhesive placards.

The Bavarian Tigers, as they call themselves, have devoted a lot of energy to the preparation of their aircraft at Tiger meets in recent years. And this approach of theirs brought them the highest trophy this year in the form of the Silver Tiger award. From the picture you can sense the joy when receiving the trophy.

 On Friday, after the morning mission, a total of 41 planes and helicopters lined up on the runway to perform the so-called Elephant walk.

 At this year's Tiger Meet, the Hungarians presented Gripen in a modified scheme for the first time ever. On both sides of the rudder, it carried a graphic of an aggressive-looking cougar, referencing the ‘Puma’ Squadron logo, which has carried on this tradition since the Second World War. That is why the squadron was renumbered from 59/1 to 101/1 at the beginning of this year as a direct reference to the 101st Fighter Division, which with its Messerschmitt Bf-109s was responsible for the defense of Hungary's airspace and recorded 396 kills during the conflict at a cost of 69 pilots. Also dating from the WW II era is the motto that is applied to the left side of the rudder in English ‘Led by courage, escorted by luck’ while the other side of the rudder is written in Hungarian as seen in this photo.

The ECE 01/30 ‘Côte d'Argent’ test unit from Mont-de-Marsan is part of the CEAM (Centre d'Expertise Aérienne Militaire) and in Gioi del Colle had the opportunity to test new equipment on  their machines. The unit sent three F4.1 standard Rafales and three Mirage 2000D RMVs (Mid-Life Renovation) to the NTM. It may seem that the Mirage is by now hopelessly outdated, but the opposite is true. It is intensely enough deployed that the NATO Tiger Meet allowed the French the opportunity to test the new equipment using the M2000D RMV. The same held true for Rafale F4.1, whose testing was mainly focused on the use of the new Visor Scorpio Helmets for targeting anti-aircraft missiles, but also for air-to-ground communication. Both aircraft have the same markings on the tail, silver on the left, gold on the right. Members of the unit also won a prize for the best so-called ‘skit’, a short story or skit about the life of the squadron, either at home or at the Tiger Meet.

 Landing of a 2. Staffel Austrian Typhoon from Zeltweg. This was the first time the unit had ever been to a Tiger Meet with their aircraft. This unit in the NTA replaced the canceled JTS, the training squadron of the Austrian Air Force with their famous Saab 105OEs. However, since it was not just a rearmament to newer technology, but a Tiger tradition taking over a completely new entity (even though defacto all Typhoon pilots went through at least a short stay at the JTS school), the 2nd Staffel had to go through a two-year period of trial membership (probationary membership), however, as of this year, it can be proud of its now full member status.

 The Turks of the 192nd Filo, after a longer hiatus due to the complex situation within the Turkish Air Force after the failed attempt to depose President Erdogan on June 15th, 2016, participated this year with three F-16Cs, one of which was interestingly blue-red in color, the other carried the older yellow-black colors. Thanks to the constant presence of flying personnel in red overalls, the Turks won the award for best Tiger dress.

The French army regiment EHRA.3 is the only Tiger unit belonging to a structure of ground troops. For this year's NTM, the GCJ fuselage-marked helicopter was repainted red and given the competition number ‘3’. This was intended to evoke an affinity with Italian Red Ferrari Super Sports. The unit even took photos of this helicopter flanked by two racing red Ferraris before flying to Italy.

 A ground crewman from the German 51st Wing stationed in Schleswig, wearing a tiger-striped helmet, guides a Tornado ECR into position. The German Luftwaffe is slowly starting to retire the Tornados, as their reconnaissance role is slowly being taken over by Heron unmanned aerial vehicles, which the 51st TLG already has in its arsenal. The task of suppressing enemy air defenses SEAD (the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses mission) will then gradually be taken over by a currently developed version of the Typhoon ECR aircraft.