From June 2 to 10, four Eurofighter fighter jets and an AMKC-130J aircraft will conduct joint training for the first time in Iceland.
The military personnel departed from the airport of Pratica di Mare (Rome), where they were transported, for the first time, on the Boeing 767-A aircraft designed for passenger transport.
The ‘Northern Viking 2011’ (NV 11) is an inter-service exercise based on a bilateral agreement between the Icelandic Government and the European Command (USEUCOM) to train components in the deployment, employment and redeployment phase of the Response Forces in a crisis area.
The objective of the exercise, also in light of the current commitments of the Armed Forces in the operational theaters abroad, is to train them to operate in a perfectly integrated manner with the other multinational units currently involved in real operations.
Such training is also an important opportunity to develop the ability to deploy their forces at considerable distances from Italy, in environmental conditions often very different from those found on national territory, complex units capable of effectively integrating into modern operational contexts.
The ‘Northern Viking 2011’ is configured as a realistic scenario useful for developing the integration and synergy of the air assets present for the conduct of complex air and naval operations, with particular attention paid to the validation of tactics related to air support.
During the exercise, flight crews will work closely with those of the naval forces, testing in the field the most appropriate tactics for the current Operational Theatres. The Eurofighter fighter jets and the KC-130J will operate in this context, in accordance with their operational capabilities, in coordinated deployments, including COMAO (Combined Air Operations), DCA/OCA (Conduct Defensive and Offensive Counter-Air Operations), ASFAO (Anti-Surface Force Air Operations) and AAR (Air to Air Refueling).
The maritime component consists of naval units from Denmark, Norway and Iceland. The scenario of ‘NV11’ includes the possibility of carrying out cooperative and non-cooperative boarding operations. For this occasion, a component of Marines from the Naval Operations Company of the ‘San Marco’ Regiment will embark as ‘security team’ on the Danish ship HDMS Hvidbjoernen. The Navy will also be present with a team of Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) from the Submarine Operations Group of the Submarine Command and Invertebrates.
The Nations participating in the exercise will be Iceland, the United States, Italy, Norway, Finland and Denmark; in addition, 2 NATO AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) aircraft will be deployed for Command and Control operations. 5/6/2011 at 13:12
Interview with Colonel Fabio Sardone, Chief of Risk Management Interview with Captain Luciano Boria, Pilot Officer of the C-130J of the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa Interview with Lieutenant Serena Sbordone, Intelligence Officer
