The event took place in the presence of the Undersecretary of State for Defence, Hon. Alfano, and the Chief of SMA, Air Force General Pasquale Preziosa.
The exercise, organised by the Air Force Command, involved units from the 1st Special Operations Air Brigade, which directed the operations, with the integration of units from the Mobility and Support Forces Command, the Combat Forces Command and the Logistic Command. In particular, an exercise with an exclusively aeronautical focus was simulated, namely the recovery of a pilot forced to eject in a “semi-permissive” environmental context, located beyond the range of assets normally used for this type of operation (Personnel Recovery). The training exercise, carried out at night, involved Armed Forces “Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance” assets for locating the missing person and identifying a suitable base to commence recovery operations safely. Subsequently, after reconnaissance and validation of the landing zone, Commandos from the 17th Wing, parachuted into the area, initiated rescue actions for the pilot. Air Rifles from the 16th Wing, having landed in the operational zone from C-27J and C-130J aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade, then consolidated the protection of the base, enabling the missing person's recovery by an HH.212 ICO helicopter from the 9th Wing, escorted by an AMX aircraft. Among the authorities present were the Undersecretary of State for Defence, Hon. Gioacchino Alfano, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Force General Pasquale Preziosa, and the Air Force Commander, Air Force General Tiziano Tosi.
The Undersecretary of State for Defence, Hon. Gioacchino Alfano, at the end of the exercise, addressing everyone present, expressed his satisfaction with the professionalism shown by the personnel of the Air Force.
General Preziosa, at the conclusion of the activities, expressed his sincere satisfaction to all the participants for the success of the exercise, stating: “
It was a good exercise; everything worked like clockwork. We wanted to certify you this evening, and there was no better occasion to say that you are operationally certified.”. “
The Air Force needs you as an important part of that great mechanism which is the Armed Force […]
because you give quality, motivation and hope to what is the fundamental task of the Air Force, which we express every day. […]
I am very satisfied to be your Commander.”, concluded General Preziosa.
The “Scaglia 2013” exercise was attended by: the 9th Wing with HH.212 ICO (Operational Capability Implementation) aircraft and Air Riflemen; the 17th Wing of Furbara (RM) with Raiders and EOR/EOD/IEDD personnel; the 16th Wing of Martina Franca (TA) with Air Riflemen; the Dog Centre of Grosseto; the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa with C-130J and C27J aircraft; the 32nd Wing with AMX and MQ-9A “Predator B” aircraft which provided ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance) activities; the 3rd Wing of Villafranca (VR) with the FARP (Forward Arming and Refuelling Point) and ALARP (Air Landed Aircraft Refuelling Point) Teams.
RAI2 TG2 from 23.06.2013 at 13:00 Gr1 of 21/06/2013 at 05:09 Gr1 of 20/06/2013 at 23:02
