The event concluded on Friday 21 March, at the 36th Fighter Wing of Gioia del Colle (BA), the exercise Personnel Recovery Week 25 – 01, a training activity that involved personnel and assets of the Air Force and forces NATO with the aim of refining techniques, tactics, and procedures for the recovery and protection of isolated personnel in a hostile environment.
Specifically, the activities involved the Hunt Eurofighter del 36th Wing and 37th Wing in Trapani, the HH-101A helicopters del 9th Wing in Grazzanise (CS), G-550 – CAEW aircraft from the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare (Rome) and P-72A of the 41st Wing at Sigonella (SR), and the personnel “Extraction Forces”and S.T.O.S. (Tactical Support for Special Operations), in addition to helicopters SA 330 Puma Romanian. The use of these has made it possible to strengthen cooperation between NATO nations, improving operational integration and the level of coordination between different platforms.
Two weeks of complex operations, during which the technical and operational preparedness of the participants was tested in increasingly realistic and challenging scenarios. The exercise required meticulous planning, coordination, and analysis work, with a gradual progression of difficulty to test the’Interoperability different configurations and the effectiveness of the procedures adopted. In fact, each scenario involved diverse situations, from the simulated ejection of a military pilot to the separation of a special forces team, to the recovery of lost civilians in a hostile scenario, all designed to test the operational readiness and decision-making capabilities of the crews.
During the missions, recovery operations were also simulated in the presence of ground and air threats, with the use of so-called Red Forces (opposition unit) and simulated anti-aircraft defences, capable of counteracting Blues, tasked with ensuring the recovery of isolated personnel (Isolated Person – ISOP).
Of particular note is the role of Eurofighter Typhoon, used as escorts for the helicopters during the recovery phases and for the location of isolated personnel. The integration between fixed-wing and rotary-wing assets required a high level of coordination to ensure the protection of low-flying helicopters, while at the same time maintaining the Situational Awareness and threat mitigation.
“Personnel Recovery Week 25-01 provided us with the opportunity to train all components involved in this type of mission, perfecting the interaction between Italian Air Force Departments and improving national and NATO operational capability.”, he declared Colonel Antonino Massara, Commander of the 36th Fighter Wing.
concept reiterated also by Colonel Salvatore Florio, Commander of the 9th Wing of Grazzanise, who stressed that “Inter-agency training allows for the consolidation of basic skills and the development of greater operational synergy with allied nations, an essential element for addressing increasingly complex and dynamic scenarios.”.
It 36th Fighter Wing of Gioia del Colle (BA) is subordinate to the Fighter Forces Command (CFC) in Milan, whose assigned mission is to acquire and maintain the operational readiness of all air defence, attack, and reconnaissance units, ensuring the operational efficiency of weapon systems, equipment, and materiel, as well as personnel training and the constant updating and optimisation of operating procedures. The CFC is subordinate to the Air Squad Command – 1st Air Region in Milan, which exercises its responsibilities regarding training, preparation, and operational readiness of its Units, so that they acquire and maintain the required levels of operational readiness. The 36th Fighter Wing is one of the 5 Wings of the Italian Air Force that ensure the National Air Defence and the service of Quick Reaction Alert of NATO.
It 9th Wing of Grazzanise, with its HH-101A flight assets and STOS (Special Tactical Operations Support) operators, conducts Special Air Operations as well as search and recovery of high-value personnel in hostile territory (Personnel Recovery - PR), providing air support to surface forces and intervening, in the presence of wounded, with emergency medical evacuation activities. It is also home to the S.E.R.E. centre for advanced training in survival, evasion, resistance and exfiltration offered to all Air Force personnel deployed abroad. As soldiers in the service of the State, the task of the 9th Wing is to contribute to the security of the country and the defence of vital national interests, to protect human lives and to be increasingly useful to the country. In addition, the Department contributes to the security arrangements of military operations abroad, to peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations, as well as to the implementation of protection measures at major events or to maintain public order. The 9th Wing reports directly to the 1st Special Operations Air Brigade and reports, as High Command, to the Air Squadron Command - 1st Air Region in Milan.
