The unit is under the Aerospace Operations Command (COA), of which it represents the “operational staff”.”
With a brief but highly symbolic ceremony, on Thursday 3 October the Air Brigadier General Filippo Nannelli has officially taken command of Operations Department (OD), the “operational staff” of Air and Space Operations Command (COA), of which it shares the location at the Poggio Renatico base.
The new Head of Operations, in office from October 1st, at the end of a brief period of interim, also concurrently assumed another delicate role, that of Deputy Commander of the COA. A role held until a few weeks ago by the current Commander, the Air Divisional General Luca Maineri, the highest authority present at the ceremony.
It General Nannelli arrives at the COA after conducting the “historic” Air Campaign in the Indo-Pacific from last summer, demonstrating the projection capability of a significant armed force on the international stage, for which he was Commander of the specially constituted Autonomous Flight Department (R.A.V.).
“The challenges we face – so the new Commander of the RO in his/her/its speech they have never been so complex and varied: outbreaks of conflict, geopolitical instability, and the need for continuous vigilance require us to have an unprecedented level of attention, preparation, and timeliness. In this context, I am aware that the true value of our Department lies in the competence and professionalism of the people who are part of it.”.
In your capacity as the Superior Commander, the General Maineri, highlighted in his closing remarks how the Operations Department is central to the overall functioning of the COA: “This Department, in its role as an operational staff, is an essential part of a much more complex, effective, specialised and strongly integrated system, which, together with related Departments, forms a unique, multidisciplinary operational entity available to the Armed Force and at the joint level in its role as an Air Component Command.”.
It Operations Department even the has its own dependencies Core JFAC, the permanent core of Joint Force Air Component, that is to say, precisely that Air Component Command capable of being implemented according to the needs of the Nation and the Alliance, both in terms of major exercises (such as the upcoming Joint Stars 24) and – if activated – of SJO's (Small Joint Operations) real.
It Air Brigadier General Filippo Nannelli, Aged 49, he is a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic. A graduate in Aeronautical Sciences, he has over 2700 flying hours to his name.
It Aerospace Operations Command Based in Poggio Renatico (FE), it plans and conducts complex aerial operations in any theatre. The COA exercises Command and Control over permanent operational activities from peacetime onwards, both domestically and in theatres outside national borders. It is also the doctrinal reference point for the use and development of Air Power. These functions are carried out 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without interruption, through the national Operations Rooms located within the base.
It Operations Department (OD) is the operational staff of Aerospace Operations Command, in its capacity as Commander of the Air Component (Air Component Commander), tasked with ensuring the effective employment of aerospace power. The COA Operations Department integrates operational, logistical, financial, and telecommunications capabilities, including cyber capabilities, within a single structure for operational planning.
