Sabre-rattling Greece sink abandoned warship close to Turkish holiday islands in the Med
SABRE-rattling Greeks have sunk a warship in the Mediterranean in a stark warning to the Turkish navy.
Fighter jets, a frigate and a submarine smashed the vessel with a barrage of missiles and a torpedo in the latest act of brinkmanship with Turkey.
Footage released by the Greek MoD showed a Sea Sparrow anti-ship missile launching from a frigate’s deck before a massive explosion struck the side of the HE Evro, a decommissioned transport ship.
A helicopter gunship also took part, firing Hellfire missiles.
It takes minutes for the ship to sink stern first and disappear beneath the sea.
The live firing exercise took place 15 miles south of the holiday island of Karpathos, in an area Turkey claims as its exclusive economic zone and plans to carry out seismic surveys for gas.
SHOW OF FORCE
The show force comes after Greece tried unsuccessfully to stop a Turkish naval convoy supplying arms to Libya, in breach of a UN embargo, earlier this month.
A Greek helicopter, which was serving with an EU naval mission, approached the Turkish cargo ship but it was forced to turn back by two Turkish frigates.
Greece is sending a very clear message to Turkey… It is a show of force, but Turkey isn't listening
In a similar incident on June 10, France said one of its frigates, which was part of the same EU blockade, was “lit up” by Turkish warship’s radar.
"Greece is sending a very clear message to Turkey," a defence source said last night.
"It is a show of force, but Turkey isn't listening."
The exercise took place 15 miles south of Karpathos, in waters Turkey claims are part of its Exclusive Economic Zone. It plans to survey the sea floor for natural gas.
A helicopter gunship armed with hellfire missiles, an F-16 fighter jet and a hunter killer submarine also took part in the simulated attack.
It comes just a month after Turkish troops invaded Greece and occupied a small patch of land on their contested border.
Around 35 soldiers reportedly marched onto a floodplain site on the east bank of the River Evros near the town of Feres.
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