Press release no. 30/2019 AERONAUTICA, AIR DEFENSE: EUROFIGHTER CHASERS INTERCEPT CIVIL AIRPLANE THAT LOST RADIO CONTACT Two Eurofighter fighter jets of the 36th Air Wing of the Italian Air Force, on alert duty, took off this morning from the air base of Gioia del Colle (BA) to intercept an ATR 42 600 aircraft of the Japanese airline Japan Air Commuter in flight in national airspace, which had departed from Toulouse (France) and was heading to Heraklion on the island of Crete (Greece), which had lost radio contact with the air traffic control (ATC) authorities. The immediate order to take off – in technical jargon “Scramble”– was given by the CAOC (Combined Air Operations CenterRe) of Torrejon in Spain, the NATO entity responsible in the area, in coordination with the Air Operations Command (COA) of Poggio Renatico and the agencies of the Armed Forces responsible for surveillance of the national airspace and NATO. The “hunter pilot” personnel of the 22nd Radar Group of Licola provided the Eurofighter pilots in flight with the necessary information to intercept the aircraft that was flying over the national airspace between Campania and Basilicata. Upon arriving in the affected area, the two interceptor fighters identified the civil aircraft for the intended VId (Visual Identification) and once the radio communications were restored, they returned to their base. The complex defense system through which the Air Force ensures the continuous surveillance of the national airspace is integrated, even in peacetime, with that of the other countries belonging to NATO. The chain of alert for this type of events and for violations of airspace stipulates that the immediate order to intervene by fighter jets (“Scramble“The National Air Defense System (SNA) is composed of the Air Operations Center (COAC) of Torrejon (Spain), the NATO agency responsible for airspace surveillance in the area, whose national counterpart is the Air Operation Center of Poggio Renatico. The chain also includes the 11th D.A.M.I. Group (Integrated Missile Air Defense) of Poggio Renatico (FE) and the 22nd Radar Group of Licola (NA), which have the task of guiding the Air Defense assets by providing the necessary information to intercept potential aerial threats. The airspace monitoring activity is carried out by specialized and trained personnel, possessing the qualification of Surveillance Controller or Interception Controller. The national Air Operations Center performs fundamental tasks in the organization of the air defense service and carries out a constant activity of supervision over the proper functioning of the system. Should a non-military threat arise to Italian airspace, IT-AOC takes over the command of interceptor aircraft entrusted to NATO for the subsequent counter-action. This occurs when a civilian aircraft transiting the national airspace exhibits an anomalous and therefore potentially dangerous behavior for safety, or when it requires air support due to technical problems that compromise the safety of the flight, as in today’s case, due to the loss of radio communications.