Greek military aviators, Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis perform the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.
Michael Moutoussis (Greek: , 1885 16 March 1956) was a Greek aviator and military officer who was one of the first military aviators in the Hellenic Armed Forces. During the Balkan Wars (19121913) he performed together with Aristeidis Moraitinis the first naval air co-operation mission in history.
The Hellenic Air Force (HAF; Greek: Πολεμική Αεροπορία, romanized: Polemikí Aeroporía, lit. 'War Aviation', sometimes abbreviated as ΠΑ) is the air force of Greece (Hellenic being the synonym for Greek in the Greek language). It is considered to be one of the largest air forces in NATO and is globally placed 18th out of 139 countries. It is also noted for its high quality pilots, benchmarked annually in international exercises. Under the Kingdom of Greece from 1935 to 1973, it was known as the Royal Hellenic Air Force (RHAF) (Greek: Ἑλληνικὴ Βασιλικὴ Ἀεροπορία, romanized: Ellinikí Vasilikí Aeroporía).
The Hellenic Air Force is one of the three branches of the Hellenic Armed Forces, and its mission is to guard and protect Greek airspace, provide air assistance and support to the Hellenic Army and the Hellenic Navy and to provide humanitarian aid in Greece and around the world. The Hellenic Air Force includes approximately 33,000 active troops, of whom 11,750 are career officers, 14,000 are professional conscripts (ΕΠ.ΟΠ.), 7,250 are volunteer conscripts and 1,100 are women. The motto of the Hellenic Air Force is the ancient Greek phrase Αἰὲν Ὑψικρατεῖν (Aièn Hypsikrateîn, "Always Dominate the Heights"), and the HAF emblem represents a flying eagle in front of the Hellenic Air Force roundel.