The Hellenic Air Force or HAF (Greek: Πολεμική Αεροπορία) is the air force of Greece. Its mission is to guard and protect the Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy as well as humanitarian aid (upon request) in Greece and around the world.In 1911 the Greek Government appointed French specialists to form the Hellenic Aviation Service. Six Greek officers were sent to France for training, while the first four "Farman" type aircraft were ordered. The first Greek aviator was Emmanuel Argyropoulos, who flew in a Nieuport IV.G "Alcuin" fighter, on February 8, 1912. The first military flight was made on 13 May of that year by Lieutenant Demetrios Kamberos. In June, Kamberos, flew with the "Daedalus", a Farman Aviation Works aircraft that had been converted into a seaplane, setting the foundations of the Naval Aviation. That September, the Greek Army fielded its first squadron, the Aviators Company (Λόχος Αεροπόρων).The Hellenic Air Force participated in the Balkan Wars, World War I, the Asia Minor Campaign, and World War II. Initially it consisted of the separate Army Aviation and Naval Aviation, but in 1930 the Aviation Ministry was founded, establishing the Air Force as the third branch of the Hellenic Armed Forces. In 1931, the Air Force Academy, the Scholi Ikaron was founded. During the Second World War, it successfully resisted the Italian invasion in 1940, but practically the entire force was destroyed by the Germans in April 1941. The Air Force was rebuilt in the Middle East as part of the Royal Air Force, flying Spitfires, Hurricanes and Martin Baltimores. After Greece's liberation in 1944, it returned home and subsequently participated in the Greek Civil War. In the 1950s, the force was rebuilt and organized according to NATO standards. The Greek Air Force participated in the Korean War with a transport flight unit. Greece participated in NATO nuclear weapons sharing until 2001, using A-7 Corsair IIs to deploy U.S. tactical B61 nuclear bombs from Araxos Air Base.Until the late 1980s the Air Force deployed Nike-Hercules Missiles armed with U.S. nuclear warheads. As a result of Greco-Turkish tensions around the 1974 Turkish invasion in Cyprus, the U.S. removed its nuclear weapons from Greek and Turkish alert units to storage. Greece saw this as another pro-Turkish move by NATO and withdrew its forces from NATO's military command structure from 1974 to 1980.In 1988 the first 3rd generation fighters were introduced, marking the beginning of a new era: The first Mirrage 2000 EG/BG aircraft were delivered to the 114th Combat Wing and equipped the 331 and 332 squadrons. In January 1989, the first F-16C/D Block 30 arrived in Nea Anchialos (111th Combat Wing) and were allocated between the 330 and 346 squadrons. In March 29, 1991 the RF-84F were retired from service after 34 years and 7 months of operational life. In November 1992 more RF-4E were delivered to the 348 Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. In 1997 the reception of third generation aircraft continued. In July, delivery of forty F-16 Block 50 begun. The new aircraft, equipped with the (LANTIRN) navigation and targeting pod as well as AMRAAM and HARM missiles, were allocated to the 341 and 347 squadrons.In 2005, Greece was among the first countries to add the F-16 Block 52+ to its inventory. Sixty of these aircraft were acquired and another thirty are currently in order. This advanced F-16 type is an improved version of the Block 50 featuring a more powerful radar, better communications systems and an upgraded engine. The Hellenic Air Force's Block 52+ belong to the 337, 340 and 343 Squadrons with call signs "Ghost", "Fox" and "Star" respectively. 337 SQ is based at Larissa Air Force Base (110 Combat Wing) and the other two in Souda AB (115 CW).Today, the Hellenic Air Force has a total fighter fleet of 275 modern, upgraded or under upgrade aircraft and due to retirement of some fighter units that have ended their circle of operation,HAF is looking forward to acquiring new 3rd and 4th generation fighters in order to reach a total number of 300 modern fighters, according to the "2007 Supreme Air Force Council Momentum" published in 2007. Such goal is to be gradually reached until 2015. Prime candidates for a 4th generation aircraft, of which acquisition is considered certain, are the Eurofighter Typhoon, F-35 Lightning II (JSF) and Dassault Rafale.The camo extensively used is the Aegean Ghost theme (Φάντασμα του Αιγαίου). Note that Greece has placed an order for 20 additional F-16C Block 52+ and 10 F-16D Block 52+ aircraft. Also, the purchase of modern fourth generation fighters is likely to follow due to the A-7 Corsairs being gradually retired from service.