The visit of Air Force Brigadier General Fernando Giancotti involved the 9th Air Brigade ISTAR-EW, the Airfield Command, the RACSA and the 14th Squadron on Monday, July 16. Air Force Brigadier General Fernando Giancotti, Commander of the Air Force, visited Pratica di Mare where he visited some agencies subordinate to the Air Force. Upon his arrival at the Base, General Giancotti was welcomed by Air Brigade Commander Roberto Preo, Commander of the 9th Air Brigade ISTAR-EW and Commander of the Airfield Command of Pratica di Mare. General Giancotti was able to attend an informative briefing on the organization and operational and informational activities carried out by the 9th Air Brigade in the fields of “Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance” (ISTAR) and “Electronic Warfare” (EW), also in support of the Inter-Service, Inter-Agency, Allied and Coalition component. Following this, the Commander of the Air Force Team attended the briefing on the Air Command, which is the entity that provides technical, administrative and logistical support to the Aeronautical and Inter-Force Entities that operate the airport facility. After the signing of the Honor Roll and the customary exchange of crests, General of the S.A. Giancotti, accompanied by General of the B.A. Preo, then proceeded to the Airspace Control Training Department, where he was received by Colonel Dario Tarantino and his colleagues. After a brief introduction on the organization and institutional tasks of the Department, General Giancotti was updated on the evolution of the training offer of the RACSA, which qualifies officers, non-commissioned officers and troops from all the Armed Forces, including foreign ones, in Air Defense Control, Air Traffic and Meteorology, providing, moreover, a constant and valuable support to other State Departments, such as Civil Protection and the National Fire Brigade, specifically in the field of aeronautical training. The visit then continued at the Department’s state-of-the-art simulators where the Commander of the Air Squadron was able to observe the exercises carried out by Italian and foreign trainees (Libya and Kuwait). The training is carried out in compliance with national, European and international regulations (ICAO -International Civil Aviation Organization - O.M.M. - World Meteorological Organization - NATO). Furthermore, the area located at the Air Defense and Missile Training Group for the Force NEC (Network Enabled Capabilities) project has been of particular interest; with this project, RACSA will be able to carry out the functions of DAOCC (Deployable Air Operations Coordination Center) through the new simulator, connecting through the Defense Integrated Test Bed with all the participating Defense actors (Flight Test Center, CeSIVA of the Army and Maricenprog of the Navy), in order to integrate its own training expertise and make it available for the simulation of complex scenarios in an inter-service context. General Giancotti’s visit ended at the 14th Air Wing, where the Air Wing Commander was received by Colonel Antonio Caruso, Commander of the 14th Air Wing, who, in the welcome briefing, outlined the operational activities and the complex functions of the Agency. General Giancotti was also received by the heads of the various units, the President of the Sub-officers and a representative of the Air Wing, to present in person each of the thematic areas of responsibility.
The 9th ISTAR-EW Air Brigade is an Intermediate Command subordinate to the Air Force Command. Established on December 1st, 2013 at the military airport of Pratica di Mare (Rome), it has under its control: the Airport Command; the National Meteorological and Climatological Center (CNMCA); the Center for Geotopographic Information of Aeronautics (CIGA); the Airspace Control Training Department (RACSA); the Electronic Warfare Support Department (ReSTOGE); the Operations Center for Meteorology (COMET). The RACSA is subordinate to the 9th ISTAR-EW Air Brigade and is responsible for the training of personnel employed in the fields of Air Traffic, Air Defense, and Meteorology, in relation to the employment requirements of the airborne instrument, conducting specialized courses and qualification, as well as studies aimed at professional improvement and a higher standardization. The 14th Squadron, located at the Military Airport of Pratica di Mare, depends on the Air Force Command for the provision of support and special forces. It conducts missions in the field of in-flight refueling, radio measurements, transport and training with the KC-767A aircraft (the Operational Control of which is entrusted to the European Air Transport Command of Eindhoven), the P-180 Avanti, and in the field of airspace surveillance with the G-550 CAEW aircraft, in accordance with the plans and directives received from the Air Force Command.
