Personnel and units from seven nations took part in the course. The Air Force participated in the course, which began on Monday, September 9, with two Eurofighters from the 37th Stormo in Trapani, on their first TLP course as “Blue Air”two Eurofighter aircraft from the 4th Stormo in Grosseto (GR), as follows:“Red Air”, a P180 and a KC-767A tanker from the 14th Stormo of Pratica di Mare (RM) as support assets, an HH3F and a group of air rescue workers in their capacity as “extraction team”of the 85th Combat SAR Center of Pratica di Mare (RM) in the framework of CSAR missions (Combat Search and Rescue), an Intelligence officer from the 2nd Stormo, a surveillance controller from the 22nd Radar Group of Licola (NA) and personnel from the ReSTOGE (Technical Support and Operational Support for Electronic Warfare) of Pratica di Mare (RM). The results achieved were excellent, both in terms of flown sorties and the training targets achieved. One of the novelties that distinguished the 2013-5 flight course was the use, for the first time in the context of complex missions with a high number of aircraft deployed simultaneously, of the Link16 by the KC767A during the refueling operations in flight. The possibility of networking with the other aircraft and sharing information such as, for example, the PPLI (Precise Participant Location and Identification) constitutes an essential element in the construction of the’Air Picture, Both for the flight arrangements and for the ground control agencies. The interest shown by the foreign personnel in the potential and the flexible use of the KC767 was significant, as was the appreciation shown towards AM for making the tanker available. The crews and support personnel were engaged, for the four weeks of the course, in the planning, conduct and execution of COMAO (Composite Air Operations – Joint Air Operations) based on scenarios that simulated the different contexts in which air power can be deployed. The level of challenge with which the participants were confronted was high given the presence of numerous aircraft as “Aggressors”including 2 Swiss F18s, 2 Turkish F16s, 2 Spanish F18s, 2 Spanish Eurofighters, 2 Italian Eurofighters, 2 French Mirage 2000C, 2 British Hawk jets, as well as a Spanish C295, three Spanish and one Danish military helicopter (SH3D, AB212 and Puma).“HDMS Esbern Snare”. In order to present different threats, in terms of characteristics and performance, real GBAD configurations were also employed (Crotale NG, Nasams, Skyguard) and SA8 surface-to-air threat simulators from the British base of Spadeadam.
The introduction of a new Link-16 suite made available by the Spanish air force, equipped with complex simulation capabilities and capable of presenting a complete “air picture”Link16 (thanks to the integration of tracks from the Spanish CRC with those from the AWACS aircraft), has allowed the TLP instructor staff to present very complex and challenging missions. The RTMS capabilities (Real Time Monitoring System) that the Spanish system is capable of supporting real-time interaction, adapting the scenario accordingly with adequate “injections”in order to maximize the “learning objectives”, as well as monitoring the execution of the planned activity by exercising certain command and control functions.
It Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP), which is based at the Albacete Air Base in Spain, is an organization born out of a “Memorandum of Understanding”signed by 10 Nations (Italy, Spain, USA, UK, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Denmark). Italy joined the TLP as a signatory nation in January 1996. Its mission is to improve the effectiveness of air operations conducted by Allied Forces by promoting the development of assertive leadership skills and the ability to analyze, plan, execute and evaluate air operations.“combined” requests to a “mission commander“. The TLP is actively cooperating with NATO on the basis of a “Letter of Agreement”signed by the two Organizations.”.
