At Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania, the handover ceremony took place between the outgoing Colonel Nasto and the incoming Colonel Massarotto.
At the Lithuanian air base in Šiauliai, the handover ceremony took place between personnel from Block 66 and the contingent of Block 67 of the Air Task Force. 36th Wing on a mission for the Baltic Air Policing service, in the presence of, among others, the Air Division General Enrico Degni, Head of Operational Support Department COVI (Interforce Summit Operational Command).
The 36th Wing Air Task Force, equipped with aircraft Eurofighter Typhoon (F-2000) from the 36th Wing from Gioia del Colle, 4th Wing in Grosseto, 37th Wing in Trapani and 51st Wing In Istrana, it provides continuous air support to the NATO Air Policing mission. In the four months under the command of Colonel Michele Nasto, The TFA completed 32 “Alpha Scrambles”, intercepting 48 unidentified aircraft. In total, over 1000 flight hours and 300 sorties were flown, and several joint activities were conducted with multinational and NATO contingents deployed in the Baltic region.
Italy will continue to have the leadership of Baltic Air Policing for the next four months. The outgoing commander, Colonel Michele Nasto, has indeed handed over to Colonel Roberto Massarotto the “key to the Baltics”, which metaphorically marks the handover of the air defence system in NATO's north-eastern region.
In the presence of Italian, Lithuanian, and French diplomatic, military, and civilian authorities, the Defence Policy Director of the Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence, Vaidotas Urbelis, highlighted how: ”The air policing mission is a demonstration of NATO allies“ cohesion. When we talk about NATO, we are talking about our commitment to safeguarding the skies; our objective remains the same: secure airspace.".
The Italian ambassador in Vilnius, Emanuele De Maigret, The Italian staff has been thanked for their profound sense of responsibility: “Italy is strongly committed to the security of NATO borders, with a 360-degree approach and a holistic vision of Euro-Atlantic security.”.
The outgoing Commander of the 36th Wing Air Task Force, Michele Nasto, in his speech at the ceremony, wished to emphasise that: “I can proudly say that today, after more than 1000 flight hours, 32 A-Scrambles and 48 aircraft intercepted, a unique national deployment of air defence, command and control, and intelligence gathering assets, after 120 days constantly on alert and always ready, this Task Force, with its men and women, has shown itself to be deserving of your trust and that of our allies. We have done this quietly, with passion and dedication, aware that we could not fail, but at the same time certain that we could, knew how to, and wanted to serve Italy and NATO.”.
