On Sunday, July 11, two Eurofighter fighter jets from the 36th Stormo of Gioia del Colle intercepted the aircraft that was no longer transmitting radio signals. The aircraft, as per its regular flight plan, had taken off in the morning from Baden-Baden, Germany, bound for Lamezia Terme. At a certain point during the flight, radio contact with the civil authorities responsible for air traffic was lost, which prompted the Air Defense Command to alert the command chain. At 9:05 a.m., after several unsuccessful attempts to establish contact with the aircraft’s pilots, the NATO Combined Air Operation Center 5 (CAOC), in coordination with the Air Force Operations Command (COFA) of Poggio Renatico (Ferrara), ordered the ‘scramble’, that is, the immediate takeoff of interceptor fighter jets in service for alerting on the national territory. The two Eurofighter fighter jets, launched from the 36th Wing under the radar control of the 32nd GRAM in Otranto, came into visual contact with the civilian aircraft around 9:20 a.m., off the coast of Maratea, and escorted it until the start of the landing procedure at the planned destination airport of Lamezia Terme. Subsequently, the two military aircraft returned to the base, while the civilian aircraft was handed over to the airport authorities for further inspection on the ground. This is the first actual interception for the 36th Wing since the Eurofighter fighter jet entered service at the Puglia air base. The Italian Air Force ensures the surveillance of the national airspace 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, with an integrated defense system, even during peacetime, in conjunction with that of the other countries belonging to NATO. The service is guaranteed by the 4th Squadron from Grosseto and the 36th Squadron from Gioia del Colle with Eurofighter aircraft, and by the 37th Squadron from Trapani with F-16 fighter jets.
