The military aircraft, a Cessna 551, en route from Cannes (France) to Vienna (Austria) was intercepted on Wednesday, May 27th by fighter jets from the 4th Wing of Grosseto, following its transit through national airspace without adequate authorisation.
The interception took place at 12:10, 15 miles west of Rovereto (Trento), where the aircraft was identified. The Eurofighter jets then escorted the aircraft to the border of national airspace, approximately 30 miles north of Belluno, before returning to the 4th Wing, where they landed at 13:03 local time.
In technical jargon, a “scramble” is the immediate takeoff of fighter jets which, under the guidance of air defence controllers, head towards a “suspect” aircraft to visually ascertain its identity and escort it to the borders of Italian airspace. In most cases, these are aircraft that do not meet established requirements, do not have the necessary permissions to fly over national airspace, or lose communication with air traffic control or deviate from their planned route for no valid reason.
The Air Force ensures the surveillance and defence of national airspace 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, through a system of radar, aircraft and missile systems, integrated since peacetime with those of other NATO member countries. In addition to the 4th Wing in Grosseto, the immediate take-off and interception service in cases of alarm is carried out by the 36th Wing in Gioia del Colle (Bari), also equipped with Eurofighter aircraft, by the 5th Wing in Cervia and by the 37th Wing in Trapani, which are equipped with F-16 aircraft.
