The aircraft, belonging to Canadian company Air Transat, had taken off from Montreal and was bound for Athens. The scramble of the two fighter jets from the Gioia del Colle air base was ordered by the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejon.
Two Eurofighter Typhoons from the 36th Wing at Gioia del Colle took off this morning to carry out an air interception following an immediate take-off order, technically known as a scramble.
The order was issued by NATO via the Combined Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Torrejon (Spain), in coordination with the Aerospace Operations Command (C.O.A.) in Poggio Renatico and the Armed Forces bodies responsible for national airspace surveillance, in order to carry out the visual identification (VID) of an aircraft belonging to the Canadian company Air Transat which had lost radio contact with air traffic control.
The two interceptor fighters of the 36th Wing, under the guidance of personnel from the 22nd Integrated Missile Air Defence Group of Licola (Naples), were authorised to conduct supersonic activity in order to reach the aircraft, which was en route from Montreal to Athens, as quickly as possible. The aircraft then re-established radio contact with air traffic control bodies and was able to continue regularly towards its planned destination.
The Air Force ensures the surveillance of national airspace 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, with an integrated defence system, even in peacetime, with that of other NATO member countries. The service is guaranteed – for surveillance, identification and control – by the 11th Integrated Missile Air Defence Group (DAMI) of Poggio Renatico (Ferrara) and the 22nd Radar Group of Licola (Naples), while four Air Force Wings with Eurofighter assets ensure the Air Defence service: the 4th Wing of Grosseto, the 36th Wing of Gioia del Colle, the 37th Wing of Trapani and the 51st Wing of Istrana. Furthermore, since March 2018, F-35A aircraft of the 32nd Wing of Amendola have also been integrated into the national air defence system, contributing, with specific operational capabilities and the latest generation technology, to the defence of Italian skies and becoming the first 5th generation aircraft to be used by NATO to monitor the Alliance's airspace in a NATO Air Policing operation.
