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This time Tiger squadrons gathered in the southeastern part of Italy to show their flags on one of Europe's largest air force exercises. The 2023 edition the annual NATO Tiger Meet (NTM) was held on the military air base Gioia del Colle, just 40km south of Bari. 

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Gioia del Colle, 01.10.2023 – The beginning of October marked the STARTEX for more than 80 aircraft and helicopters. Over 1100 exercise participants joined on October 1st at the home of 36° Stormo for initial briefings. 12° Gruppo of the A.M.I. (Aeronautica Militare Italiana) as hosting tiger squadron welcomed 19 different tiger squadrons together with 7 external units supporting the exercise. Many detachments had already arrived at the air base by the end of September to set up their equipment. The obligatory in-briefings and the traditional opening ceremony with the raising of the flags and the playing of the national anthems were already carried out on Sunday, so that flight operations could begin with full swing on Monday, October 2nd. Up to 110 missions were planned in two daily flight periods in the morning and afternoon. As a result, a total of more than 800 missions could be flown, covering the entire spectrum of air-to-air and air-to-ground roles. In the mornings, the COMAO ́s (Composite Air Operations) with up to 60 aircraft and more complex scenarios were on the schedule, while the afternoons saw around 40-50 aircraft in the so-called "Shadow Waves". The large training areas were mostly situated above Mediterranean Sea in the east of Sardinia and over the Gulf of Taranto.

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Family Reunion – "That's what it sometimes feels like when you meet again after one or two years at the NTM," says Lieutenant Colonel Jens H., Commanding Officer of the 1st Squadron of the Tactical Air Wing (TAW) 51"Immelmann". It is his eighth Tiger Meet. During his first NTM in 2011 in Cambrai / France he was just a young captain, now he is lieutenant colonel and contingent leader for the two participating Tiger units of the German Air Force, TAW 51 "Immelmann" from Schleswig and TAW 74 from Neuburg. Over the past few years, he has met many aircrews and technicians from different nations and even made friends with some of them on this exercise. From his point of view, the NTM is much more international than most other comparable air force exercises. It offers excellent training opportunities for aircrews, ops personnel and technicians in a wide operational spectrum. At the planning conferences, which usually take place almost a year in advance, special attention is paid to the training needs of the participating squadrons. "This time, we did not bring our optical reconnaissance component with us, but focused the SEAD (Suppression of Enemy Air Defences) role. In doing so, we detect, engage and neutralize enemy fire control radars in order to keep the airspace free of enemy air defenses in certain areas for a certain time," notes Lieutenant Colonel H. But for him, there is something else in addition to this high-value training, which is the famous "Tiger Spirit". It is not only characterized by colorful aircraft and overalls of the participants from different nations, but it is cooperation and cohesion between the squadrons and nations, which is becoming more and more important in today's times.

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Tailored to the needs – “One of the big advantages of all NTM´s is the flexibility in the used exercise scenarios” explains Major Günter “Gunny” V., squadron commander of 31 Smaldeel of the Belgian Air Force from Kleine Brogel. His squadron is the oldest member of the association of tiger squadrons that started their annual meetings in 1961. “Since the beginning of NTM´s we missed only a few exercises. For our young pilots and technicians NTM always was and is a perfect learning experience. Compared to other air exercises, like Red Flag in the US, the NTM´s offer a wider spectrum of scenarios that are tailored to the training needs of the different squadrons. Besides that, exercise locations change every year. They can vary from northern Norway to southern Turkey. In addition, you normally see more units from different nations with different types of aircraft. This helps to widen the view and develop closer cooperation with a better understanding of other assets” Major V. finishes his discourse.

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Cooperation and integration of new weapon systems – Lieutenant Colonel Lukasz G., Commander of the Flying Group of the 31st Tactical Air Base from Poznań-Krzesiny / Poland even extends the previous statements: "In addition to intensive international cooperation, it will be important in the near future to effectively integrate fifth-generation jets and unmanned platforms into the training scenarios of large-scale exercises." With the 6th Eskadra Lotnicza, that has been part of the Tiger Community since 2011, he has already participated in NTM ́s several times. When asked what experience has impressed him the most at a Tiger Meet so far, he answers: "This was certainly the preparation of the NTM at our homebase in Poznań in 2018. One of the biggest challenges is the detailed preparation of the exercise, but at the end, when you see how the machinery works during the exercise, you are well satisfied".

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Exercise goals achieved - Colonnello Vito Cracas from the Comando Forze da Combattimento in Milan is also highly satisfied. As exercise-director he was responsible for the safe conduct of the exercise. Even though it was his first NTM in which he actively participated, he had a very close connection to this exercise. Already as Squadron Commander of the 12° Gruppo and later as Base Commander of the 36° Stormo, he always recognized the surplus of this special high-value exercise and made sure that the contacts between the "White Tigers" of the 12° Gruppo and the Tiger Community never disappeared. "Whenever possible, I sent pilots of the squadron to the NTMs, even if no aircraft could participate in the NTMs. For some time we did not have jets available due to the weapon system conversion from Tornado F3 to Typhoon," explains Colonnello Caracas and adds: "In this context, I am very pleased that one of my pilots from that time, Capitano Michele "Mickey" Cesario, now Colonnello, has been awarded the Special Tiger Spirit Award for his persistent contact to the NATO Tigers over the years."  As a small payback for their commitment, both colonels were able to fly a mission together in a twin-seat Eurofighter during this NTM. This finished a story for both of them that had begun many years earlier.

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Silver Tiger Award - At the end of the NATO Tiger Meet, there was a lot of excitement among the participating tiger squadrons. The question was: Who wins the "Silver Tiger" and gets it to take home for a year? After all the squadrons had turned in their votes, the count began. This time the Silver Tiger was awarded to the TAW 74 from Neuburg in southern Germany. They also took first place for the best Tiger Painting of the jets. It was with great pleasure that the Bavarian Tigers celebrated these awards and returned home the following day with their awards. But also TAW 51 "Immelmann" from the far north of Germany had a good reason to be proud of what it had achieved. It took third place for the Best Operational Squadron, just behind the Belgian 31 Squadron and the TAW 74.

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“Teamwork makes aircraft fly” – that is what Senior Master Sergeant Thorben G.as technician from TAW 51 "Immelmann" underlines. He knows what he talking about. Besides many other exercises he participated in, it is his 10th NTM. “Aircrews and technicians from different countries can always learn and profit from each other. It is the teamwork and the international tiger spirit that are fascinating. Everybody is helping each other. At this point we have to thank 12° Gruppo and all supporting ITAF units at Gioia del Colle that have secured an excellent workflow for all participants” he states and adds: “Up at Schleswig we are already preparing for the NATO Tiger Meet at our air base next year. Part of the additional infrastructure required is already on site due to the employment for the large-scale-air-exercise AIR DEFENDER during last June. Even though there is still a lot to do, we are very much looking forward to the 30th anniversary of our Tactical Air Wing and the third edition of the NATO Tiger Meet at Jagel Air Base.”

Ulrich Metternich for NTA Homepage
Cologne, 10.12.2023
 

3x HH-101 Caesar