The Chief of Operations of the Inter-Service Summit visits the nerve center of national air defense
This morning the Chief of Operations of the Inter-Service Command (COVI), General of the Corps of the Army Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, He visited the Air Operations Command (COA) of Poggio Renatico, an agency of the Italian Air Force that exercises command and control over all assets engaged in operational and training activities.
Upon arrival at Poggese Air Base, he was greeted by the Commander of the Air Force, Air Force General Alberto Biavati and from the COA Commander, Air Division General Claudio Gabellini.
The visit began with an operational briefing during which the General Gabellini He illustrated the tasks and functions of the COA, highlighting the Command’s uniqueness and the numerous dependencies and interrelationships with other entities of the Armed Forces, the inter-service area and NATO. “This is a unique command in the Air Force, because even though there are no aircraft, everything that flies in the Air Force is managed and controlled from here.””, says the General Gabellini, “, which adds "The COA never stops, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, performing essential tasks for the security of the country, tasks that range from surveillance and defense of the national airspace to command and control of the Armed Forces assets deployed in Italy and worldwide, including those of Search and Rescue (SAR) and those that ensure emergency medical transport. To all of this are added the new challenges arising from the Space and Aerospace sector. Precisely for this reason, the COA is often referred to as the nerve center of the Air Force.”.
The program continued with the visit of the General Son to the more operational realities of the COA, to the Command and Control (C2) structures that, without interruption, contribute to the planning and conduct of air operations, as well as to the use and development of aerospace power, such as: National Air and Space Operational Centre, The operational structure for the exercise of the C2 functions by the COA Commander on the structures of the Air Defense, Air Transport and Search and Rescue (SAR); the Air Defense Operational Room (Pioppo) belonging to the Air Control Brigade, a recently established entity that encompasses the entire complex of capabilities of the Armed Forces for Air Defense and Integrated Missile Defense and for Operational Air Traffic. Finally, the COVI Commander visited the Centro Space Situational Awareness (CSSA), a subdivision of the COA that, for the planning and conduct of space operations, also maintains its own technical link with the COVI through the Space Operations Command (COS).
During the visit, there were no lack of moments for in-depth discussion of the numerous inter-service issues that involve, each at their own level of competence, the COVI and the Certificate of Analysis. And it is precisely on the issue of inter-forces that the General Son emphasised“To what extent, in any national or international scenario, the operational environment is so complex and multifaceted that no single Armed Force can manage it alone. Operating synergistically at the inter-service level is inevitable.”
At the conclusion of the visit, the COVI Commander, after signing the Honor Roll of the Air Operations Command with a personal dedication, left the Ferrara base.
It Air and Space Operations Command (COA) based in Poggio Renatico, in the province of Ferrara, it is an intermediate command subordinate to the Air Squadron Command of Rome and is the nerve center of Command and Control of the A.M. which ensures every day, 24 hours a day, the National Air Defense, Air Rescue, Air Transport and the planning and conduct of all area operations in the homeland and in the operational theaters outside the national borders. It also represents the sole point of contact for the Air Force regarding Air Defense, Missile Defense and for the coordination and control of Operational Air Traffic, Search and Rescue missions and military air transports.
The COA also constitutes the “Operational staff” of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force in his capacity as Commander of the Air Force. Finally, the COA is also the doctrinal reference point for the use and development of the Aerospace power.
