NATO exercise ELITE 2006 (Electronic Live Training Exercise) was held in the south of Germany between 3 and 18 May 2006. As its name implies, it is an electronic warfare and ground-based air defence exercise.

 Countries attending the exercise were the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Three NATO Partnership for Peace members also took part: Finland, Sweden and Switzerland. Some nations took part with aircraft and some with ground-based air-defence systems.

 The main operating air base was Lechfeld, which, in addition to its resident Tornado ECRs, hosted Greek and Turkish F-16s, German Tornado IDSs, Polish Su-22s, Spanish Hornets, Turkish F-4s and British Tornado GR.4s. A photoday took place at Lechfeld on the morning of 11 May. Blessed with sunny weather, the event was very well organised and offered good photo opportunities. Many thanks to the organisers.

 We finished the day at Manching air base from where a detachment of Finnish and Swiss Hornets was operating. Other ELITE aircraft were also operating from Schleswig-Jagel, Neuburg, Landsberg and Payerne (the later in Switzerland).