The immediate takeoff was requested by the NATO operations center in Torrejon to intercept and monitor a civilian aircraft that had interrupted radio communications. This morning, at approximately 10:25, two F-2000 Eurofighter fighter jets of the Air Force, on duty as a defense alert for the national airspace, carried out an intervention at the order of immediate takeoff (in technical jargon called “scramble”) to intercept and verify a civil aircraft that had lost radio contact with air traffic control authorities. The operational mission was activated following the “scramble” order received from the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Centre) in Torrejon, the NATO body responsible for airspace surveillance in that area, and was conducted under the control of the operational rooms of the Air Force's surveillance and air defence system.
The Air Force ensures the continuous surveillance of the national airspace. The Air Defense system against military threats, since the time of peace, is under the control of NATO, which, through the Combined Air Operation Centre (CAOC) in Torrejon (Spain), carries out surveillance of the airspace south of the Alps, from the Canary Islands to Turkey and from the Azores to Romania. The service is guaranteed – for the surveillance, identification and control part – by the 11th Integrated Milly-Air Defense Group (DAMI) of Poggio Renatico (Fe) and the 22nd Radar Group of Licola (Na), while the flight intervention is ensured. from the three permanent bases (4th Grosseto Squadron, 36th Gioia del Colle Squadron and 37th Trapani Birgi Squadron)and a temporary base (51st Stormo of Istrana), All of them are equipped with Eurofighter fighter jets.
The National Air Operation Centre performs fundamental tasks in the organization of the air defense service and carries out a constant activity of supervision on the proper functioning of the device. Should a non-military threat arise to Italian airspace, the IT-AOC takes over command of the interceptor aircraft entrusted to NATO for the subsequent counteraction. This occurs when a civilian aircraft transiting the national airspace exhibits an anomalous and therefore potentially dangerous behavior for safety, or when aerial support is required due to technical problems that compromise the safety of the flight, as in the present case, due to the loss of radio communications.
