Falcon Strike 2025, the most important training event of the year organised by the Italian Air Force, concluded on Friday 14 November. For two weeks, the skies of the Mediterranean became a laboratory for integration between fourth and fifth-generation platforms, joint forces capabilities, and naval components, in a training scenario that reflects the challenges of contemporary security.
The importance of the activity was highlighted during Media Day by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General S.A. Antonio CONSERVA, which highlighted how the exercise reflects the complexity of current scenarios: “We operate in scenarios where we have an air, land, naval, and cyber threat, and a threat that we can also define as space-based. – explained the General – Our crews train to cope with this complexity and the resulting technological challenges. With Falcon Strike 2025, we have reached a further level of operational capability and readiness of our assets.”
A shared vision of the Commander of the Air Squad Command - 1st Air Region, Air Force General Silvano FRIGERIO, which, on the same occasion, highlighted the value of interoperability: “We must aim for maximum integration between the 4th and 5th generations and for maximum interoperability between crews of different nations within the Atlantic Alliance. – continued the General – let's do it for over 70 years: The challenge is to bring these capabilities to the highest level.”
Falcon Strike 2025 Numbers
The FS 2025, conducted by the Air Force and now in its third edition It concluded with a balance of over 1,000 military personnel involved, more than 50 aircraft deployed, approximately 460 sorties, and over 1,000 flight hours carried out during two weeks of activity, from 3 to 14 November. The air forces of five nations participated in the exercise — Italy, United States, United Kingdom, France and Greece — with 4th and 5th generation aircraft, along with support, surveillance, refuelling, and command and control assets, and the involvement of the Italian Navy and the British Royal Navy, thus reflecting the multidomain nature of the activity.
Units and participating formations
The direction of the exercise has been entrusted to Air and Space Operations Command (COA) of Poggio Renatico, which, through EXCON at Amendola – the decision-making centre for all training activities – managed the planning, coordination, and execution of missions in real-time, ensuring operational coherence and integrated use of various national and allied capabilities.
Alongside the operational command work, the units and formations deployed in the various national bases were decisive. For the Air Force, from 32nd Wing of Amendola F-35A, F-35B and MQ-9 aircraft operated, integrated by Typhoons from the 4th, 51st and 36th Wings and T-346s from the 61st Wing. The 14th Wing provided in-flight refuelling and surveillance with KC-767As and an E-550 CAEW, while the 46th Air Brigade ensured mobility and support with KC-130Js and C-130Js. The 3rd Wing from Villafranca ensured logistical support and field infrastructure, while the Mobile Command and Control Unit (RMCC) has ensured the full integration of data and coordination between the various assets deployed. The work carried out by the Air Force Coordination and Control Services Department (RSCCAM) in collaboration with ENAV for the involvement of the airspace under the responsibility of the Rome Area Control Centre and the Brindisi Area Control Centre; an example of civil-military synergy that is increasingly crucial in ensuring flight safety in national airspace. In support of the operational apparatus Communication and Information System CIS personnel 3rd Division of the Logistics Command through its Departments (4th Telecommunications Brigade Air Defence/Air Warning Systems, Re.S.I.A., 1st R.T.C. and 2nd R.T.C.).
In addition to the Italian Air Force assets, the event also saw the participation of the Italian Navy's F-35B and AV-8B Harrier aircraft. Operating alongside the Italian assets were US and British F-35s, French Rafales, Greek F-16s, and the Royal Navy's Prince of Wales, all fully integrated into the multinational force.
Advanced Operations and Joint Activities
Among the most relevant activities of the exercise is the operation Air Landed Aircraft Refuelling Point (ALARP) conducted at the 36th Wing in Gioia del Colle, where operators from the 3rd Wing in Villafranca carried out rapid refuelling with engines running on two F-35B aircraft (known in technical jargon as “Hot Refuelling”), before then taking off rapidly to continue their operational mission. An operation that allows aircraft to return to flight immediately, increasing response capability in high-intensity scenarios and improving the readiness of the entire fleet. Also noteworthy are the cross-maintenance activities, which saw the interaction of Italian and allied specialists in providing technical and maintenance support for aircraft: a strategic piece for ensuring operational continuity in advanced scenarios and for consolidating interoperability between allied forces. All of this made it possible to test the concept Agile Combat Employment (ACE), meaning the ability to move away from a base and regenerate operational air capability in geographically dispersed locations, then continue to conduct the assigned mission.
A technical cooperation that allows NATO to share procedures, tools, and expertise, strengthening operational continuity even in distributed and complex contexts, where speed in supporting missions is a decisive factor.
A training network that spans Italy
While Amendola served as the nerve centre, Falcon Strike 2025 involved a wide range of bases and operational areas: Grosseto, Gioia del Colle, Decimomannu, Sigonella, Pratica di Mare, Brindisi and Pisa. In the exercise The Salto di Quirra Joint Experimental and Training Range (PISQ) has generated complex training scenarios, enabling joint activities between air, naval, and land components, a key element for developing a multi-domain response, which is indispensable today for the defence of the Euro-Atlantic space.
The meaning of the 2025 edition
La Falcon Strike 2025 concludes with a wholly positive assessment, the result of synergy between national departments and allied forces. The Air Force thus confirms its ability to integrate assets, technologies, and skills within a coherent and effective international framework, consolidating the country's role as a responsible and reliable player for Euro-Atlantic security. A result that combines technology, training, and human capital – elements which, together, guarantee national security and strengthen the country’s Euro-Atlantic posture.
