Synopsis
The 2023 edition of the NATO Tiger Meet brought a splash of colour to Gioia del Colle Air Base in southern Italy. More than 80 aircraft from 13 countries – many of them displaying the vivid, tiger-themed paint jobs that the exercise is famous for – flew a series of tactical training scenarios from 2 to 13 October.
Hosted this year by the Italian Air Force, the NATO Tiger Association was formed in 1961, with the French, UK and US air forces as founding members. Today, the association boasts 15 NATO Allies and partners as full members.
Footage includes shots of brightly coloured jets taking off and landing, as well as soundbites from Italian and German pilots.
Transcript
—SHOTLIST—
(00:00) VARIOUS SHOTS - TURKISH AIR FORCE, F-16C/D FIGHTING FALCON IN SPECIAL COLOUR SCHEME FOR NATO TIGER MEET 2023
(00:18) VARIOUS SHOTS - TURKISH AIR FORCE PILOT MAJOR ENGIN SEMERCİOGLU DOING PRE-FLIGHT CHECKS
(00:36) VARIOUS SHOTS - TURKISH AIR FORCE PILOT MAJOR ENGIN SEMERCİOGLU STANDS IN FRONT OF F-16C/D
(00:45) VARIOUS SHOTS - TURKISH AIR FORCE F-16C/D FIGHTING FALCON IN SPECIAL COLOUR SCHEME FOR NATO TIGER MEET 2023
(01:09) VARIOUS SHOTS - GERMAN AIR FORCE PANAVIA TORNADO FROM TACTICAL AIR WING 51, SQ 511 IN SPECIAL COLOUR SCHEME FOR NATO TIGER MEET 2023
(01:36) VARIOUS SHOTS - GERMAN AIR FORCE PILOT FROM TACTICAL AIR WING 51, SQ 511 WALKS UP TO JET
(02:04) VARIOUS SHOTS - BELGIAN AIR FORCE F-16A/B MLU FIGHTING FALCON TAKING OFF
(02:11) WIDE SHOT - TURKISH AIR FORCE F-16C/D FIGHTING FALCON TAKING OFF
(02:17) WIDE SHOT - CZECH AIR FORCE JAS-39C/D GRIPEN TAXIING AT AIRBASE
(02:20) WIDE SHOT - TURKISH AIR FORCE F-16C/D FIGHTING FALCON LANDING
(02:24) VARIOUS SHOTS - GERMAN AIR FORCE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON LANDING
(02:36) VARIOUS SHOTS - POLISH AIR FORCE F-16C/D FIGHTING FALCON LANDING
(02:50) VARIOUS SHOTS - FRENCH AIR FORCE DASSAULT RAFALE TAXIING AT AIRBASE
(03:29) WIDE SHOT - GERMAN AIR FORCE PANAVIA TORNADO TAXIING AT AIRBASE
(03:32) WIDE SHOT - EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON TAKING OFF
(03:38) WIDE SHOT - FRENCH AIR FORCE DASSAULT RAFALE TAKING OFF
(03:45) VARIOUS SHOTS - ITALIAN AIR FORCE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON IN SPECIAL COLOUR SCHEME
(04:10) CLOSE SHOT – TIGER PRINT ON BACK OF TABARD OF CREW MEMBER
(04:12) CLOSE SHOT – TIGER PATCH ON ARM OF CREW MEMBER
(04:16) MEDIUM SHOT - AUSTRIAN AIR FORCE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON TAXIING OUT OF HANGAR
(04:22) VARIOUS SHOTS - ITALIAN AIR FORCE EUROFIGHTER TYPHOON TAXIING OUT OF HANGAR
(04:33) VARIOUS SHOTS - HELLENIC AIR FORCE F-16C/D FIGHTING FALCON TAXIING TO RUNWAY
(04:47) SOUNDBITE (GERMAN) GERMAN AIR FORCE PILOT FROM TACTICAL AIR WING 51, SQ 511 (NAME WITHHELD)
“Why do squadrons have the tiger symbol? It is a symbol to stand out and to show to all the other partners of NATO, to show that this squadron belongs to a special association, which is called ‘Tiger Association’. It organises special meetings and special exercises in which only this squadron is allowed to take part, and that in itself makes it something very special in the part of the European air forces.”
(05:18) SOUNDBITE (ITALIAN)
COLONEL VITO CRACAS, EXERCISE DIRECTOR, NATO TIGER MEET 23
“The NATO Tiger Meet is a large force employment exercise (called LFE), when many assets are deployed in the same mission with different roles, with different tasks for a common purpose. So you have to know how to integrate. You have to know how to make the most of all the different assets and all the technology that each assets brings. In addition, we know each other because we are all from different countries, with different backgrounds. Still, we are all standardised under the NATO umbrella, so being able to be together and operate in the same way makes it easy, even from the first days, to work together, but practice makes perfect.”
(06:05) SOUNDBITE (ITALIAN) COLONEL VITO CRACAS, EXERCISE DIRECTOR, NATO TIGER MEET 23
“The Tiger Meet will certainly move towards a fifth-generation exercise. In this 2023 edition, we have already moved to multi-domain, so not just the airborne part, we have also involved ground forces, we have involved navy forces, and already at the next edition, we are thinking of also involving the space element, thus making the exercise even more like a modern combat scenario.”
