Exercises: EART 2023 concluded in Spain

On October 27, after 2 weeks of joint exercise, the 9th edition of the’European Air Refuelling Training (EART 2023) at the Lanzarote Air Base, in Spain, under the guidance of EATC Command (European Air Transport Command), Based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Hosted by the Ejército del Aire y del Espacio (Spanish Air Force), the training took place at the air base in Lanzarote, Spain, from 16 to 27 October. Italy participated in the training event with the Boeing KC767-A aircraft del 14th Practice Wing of Pratica di Mare, accompanied by their flight crews and technical maintenance personnel, going on to plan, and subsequently fly, complex missions In-flight refuelling Supported by the same French and Spanish assets, which respectively took part with the A330 MRTT and A400 aircraft, the exercise provided support to a parallel exercise called “Ocean Sky”in which the protagonists were the combat aircraft of several countries that were members of the NATO who operated from the nearby Gando airbase in Gran Canaria (Spain).

The purpose of the exercise, under the guidance of the Director of the Training and Exercise Section of the EATC, Lieutenant Colonel Arnaud Viltart, it was to train on the procedures of rendez-vous (the typology and manner in which aircraft perform a re-join in flight) in “multi tanker formation”(training in the flight of multiple refueling aircraft) and on evasion maneuvers and escape from threats, accumulating 33 missions and a total of 115 hours of flight time. This has allowed the participating crews to operate in unusual training scenarios, increasing the level of standardization and interoperability of flight procedures among crews from different countries. 

It EATC Command, The Air Force, which has been an integral part of the project since 2014, is part of a European project for the sharing of transport assets, and Italy participates in the program with Boeing KC767-A aircraft. 14th Practice Wing of Pratica di Mare and with the C-130J and C27J aircraft of 46th Air Brigade of Pisa. Thanks to the accession of numerous European countries, it can rely on multiple assets, some of which are also equipped with a flight refueling system.

The 14th Squadron, based at the “Mario de Bernardi” military airport in Pratica di Mare, is subordinate to the Rome-based Command for Mobility and Support Forces (CFMS). The squadron conducts missions of airspace surveillance with the Gulfstream G-550 CAEW aircraft, radiomessures e tactical transport, Also in favor of the Department of Civil Protection, with the P-180 Avanti I and II aircraft and In-flight refuelling, strategic transport e transportation in bio-containment with the KC-767A aircraft.