ESTONIA: US AIR WAR COLLEGE VISITS ITALIAN TFA

During a tour of the Baltic States, 20 attendees from the US Air War College also visited the Italian Detachment in Estonia. A delegation from the American Air War College visited the Italian Air Task Force (TFA) today, which has been present in Estonia since January for the NATO Air Policing mission.
The course attendees were welcomed by the Commander of the Italian TFA, Colonel Eros Zaniboni, who, after his welcome address, gave an informative briefing on the organisation and activities of the TFA. The visit then continued to the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) hangars, where it was possible to see the Typhoon aircraft up close and view the inside of the cockpit.
At the conclusion of the visit, the usual exchange of gifts between Colonel Zaniboni, who left as a gift a lithograph depicting the silhouette of the’EurofighterItalian, and the representative from the US Air War College who reciprocated with the institution's traditional “coin”.
The TFA36th Wingis redeployed at Ämari Military Airfield, from where it ensures airspace surveillance with four Eurofighter aircraft and personnel from the Air Force's three “fighter” Wings, the 36th Wing of Gioia del Colle (the leading Wing for the mission), the4th Wingin Grosseto and the37th Wingin Trapani.
Air Policing is a collective defence mission undertaken in peacetime, conducted to safeguard the integrity of NATO member airspace. The Air Policing mission in the Baltic States aims to confirm the Alliance's ability to share and pool all existing capabilities. Italian fighter jets have been ensuring the integrity of airspace over the Baltic Republics under NATO control since the early days of January. In 2004, with the Baltic countries and Bulgaria joining the Atlantic Alliance, the airspace of those countries became an integral part of the Euro-Atlantic area and, as such, was included in NATO's air and missile defence system. This system also includes Air Policing activity, which consists of continuous air surveillance aimed at ensuring the integrity and security of NATO airspace.