Watch Hellenic Air Force F-4 Phantom Jets Perform A Low Apex Attack

Two cool clips show Greek Phantoms performing a head-on low apex attack during an airshow.

These clips were filmed in 2016, during Flisvos Marina Air Show.

They show two F-4E AUP Phantoms, belonging to the 338 Squadron of the Hellenic Air Force, from Andravida air base, performing a Low Apex Attack. It’s a kind of visual pop-up attack with the aircraft approaching the target at very low-level (below 500 ft) and high-speed (480 Kts). At the PUP (Pull Up Point) the aircraft starts to climb. At the Pull Down Point, the aircraft starts to roll so that the Apex is below 5,000 feet and turns to assume the final attack heading, diving towards the target. At the release point, the jet drops the bombs and breaks, performing an evasion maneuver pulling 5-6Gs to reduce exposure to the ground threats. Jinking is usually performed to prevent the flight path from being predictable.

As you can see, the F-4s release plenty of flares while approaching the simulated target, to face possible IR-guided surface-to-air missiles.

Top image: screenshot from YT

About David Cenciotti
David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.