Located in the historic region of Elis, Western Greece, 338MDV Fighter-Bomber Squadron of the 117th Combat wing soldiers on with the mighty F-4E Phantom II at Andravida. I made a recent visit to the base during the ‘European Phantom Conference’ event to witness daily flying operations. After 50 years of operational flying with the aircraft, 338MDV is now the final F-4 Phantom squadron in the Hellenic Air Force. Over the years, the F-4 has seen various upgrades to keep it current and reliable against 3rd generation fighter-bombers. The most notable modernization occurred in the early 2000’s when all current flying aircraft were upgraded to AUP ‘Avionics Upgrade Package’ standard, hence the aircraft’s current designation in Hellenic service as a McDonnell Douglas F-4E AUP Phantom II.
There are approximately 8-10 active aircraft left at Andravida, despite this small number, all are well maintained and can be seen flying on a daily basis, with sorties occurring between 2 and 4 times per day. Each sortie consists of at least 2 aircraft where various flying tactics are performed, dependent on the needs of the squadron. This can include basic formation flying and handling, air-ground attack sorties and air to air tactics. Low navigation flying is also carried out over sea and in the nearby Peloponnese Mountain range.
In early 2025 it was announced that plans to fully upgrade Andravida for the future arrival of the Lockheed Martin F-35 would be advanced. Work at the base will commence in 2025, with completion by 2028. Due to this, the future of the Phantom and its time in Greece is now very limited.
