A very intense year has come to an end for the Air Force, a year full of training and operational commitments in the service of the country and at the forefront of the international scene, with an activity that was virtually continuous throughout the year in operations. Air Policing in defense of NATO’s borders and airspace. One year “en route for the future”As the motto of the Centenary of the Air Force, which the Armed Forces are about to celebrate in 2023.
Twelve months in which aircraft, flight crews and technical personnel of the Armed Forces supported The most important military missions abroad, conducted by Defence Staff through Interforce Summit Operational Command – including the Balkans, Lebanon, the Horn of Africa, and Niger – and they have been called upon to intervene in numerous parts of the world where, thanks to their logistics of adherence, the unique capabilities and expertise of the Aerospace power They have been deployed thousands of kilometers from national borders: from Iceland to Antarctica, from Kuwait to Qatar, to that eastern Europe that is capturing the attention of the whole world.
During 2022, as part of the operations Air Policing Italy participated in the monitoring of the airspace on the eastern flank of the Alliance; the Italian Eurofighter jets took off 50 times to ensure compliance with the agreement. NATO borders. It happened in Romania, In , where a AM task force was already present, last February, at the moment when the Russian-Ukrainian crisis escalated, in Poland e Back in Romania, where four fighter jets Eurofighter and 150 women and men, pilots and specialists of the Air Force, will remain until July 2023. From May to the beginning of July 2022, however, there was a task force of F-35 Italians to ensure, on behalf of NATO, the surveillance and defense of the skies of the’Iceland.
Meanwhile, the activity of the national air contingent continues. present on the Kuwaiti and Iraqi territoriesor within the framework of’operation Prima Parthica – Inherent Resolve, launched to combat and fight against Daesh Since October 2014. More than 6,000 flight hours have been flown in 2022 by Eurofighter fighter jets and remote-piloted aircraft Predator deployed at the Kuwaiti base of Ali al Salem for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance activities, and over 3,500 hours of those carried out with aircraft C-27J, C-130J and KC-767A for transport operations, support to coalition personnel on the ground, and refuelling in flight.
A 2022 end that unfortunately was characterized by Tragic plane crash in Trapani where Captain Fabio Antonio Altruda lost his life on board his Eurofighter, But also from important and unprecedented operational events, such as the first landing of a C-130J of the Air Force on semi-prepared track made by the Armed Forces and ENEA dark-haired Antarctic of Baia Terranova, as well as the support of a specialized team of the Armed Forces in the field Counter-UAS (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) for the safety of the World Cup in Qatar, as part of the Italian “Orice” inter-service operation.
In total, during 2022, in these types of missions outside national borders, more than 2,300 Air Force personnel have been deployed, thanks also to silent support for logistics both at home and abroad.
As mentioned, 2022 was a year of preparation and preparation for the important anniversary of the Centenary of the Air Force, which will officially take place on March 28, 2023, but throughout the entire next year the Armed Forces will be engaged throughout the territory with events and initiatives designed to better introduce the history, traditions, activities carried out, and the capabilities developed in these first one hundred years of existence. A year that saw the long-awaited return of National Acrobatic Patrol, After two years conditioned by the pandemic and the constant commitment to serve the community, especially in those moments when air travel is essential to save as many human lives as possible. Helicopters and AM air rescue crews They were among the first, for example, to intervene on the island of Ischia at the end of November to rescue the population affected by the earthquake. violent flood which hit the locality of Casamicciola.
There were 98 missions of Emergency and humanitarian medical transport In the year that is coming to an end, life-saving flights for the transport of organs, medical teams, or for citizens in need of immediate care in specialized hospital facilities. Approximately half of the people transported were children, often placed inside thermal cradles, transferred to the pediatric centers of excellence nationwide from all over Italy.
79 interventions search and rescue of seriously injured, missing or in danger of life in remote mountain areas or at sea and 27 interventions in favor of Forest Fire Prevention Campaign of last summer, which saw CSAR Centers. (Combat Search and Rescue) of the Air Force to contribute to extinguishing the fires that have broken out in our territory, to protect the population and the environment, in effective synergy with the State Agencies and Bodies. 25 immediate launches – in technical jargon Scramble – on the part of the interceptor fighters of the Air Force who took off to verify and identify aircraft that were not in possession of the permits to fly over Italian airspace or that had lost radio contact with the national authorities responsible for air traffic control.
Numbers and events that have seen the Air Staff actively participate in the various activities in support of High Commands, to Departments Alright Operational commands and that testify to the great commitment, passion and professionalism that the men and women of the Air Force put in In the service of the country.
