The Italian Air Force took part in the exercise Formidable Shield 2025 (FS25) with a “package” C2BMD (Ballistic Missile Defence Command and Control)) associated with a deployable radar.
The activity, led by the US Sixth Fleet and conducted by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), took place in the seas and skies between the United Kingdom and Norway from 3 to 23 May 2025, with 11 allied nations involved. For Italy, the Italian Navy also took part in the exercise with the multipurpose combat ship, Giovanni delle Bande Nere.
FS25 represented an important opportunity for all entities involved in various capacities in the Alliance's integrated air and missile defence (Integrated Air and Missile Defence – IAMD). Through live-fire weapon exercises in the open sea, the Alliance intended to focus specifically on the synergistic and shared use of Command and Control systems across all deployed assets.
The Italian Air Force “package”, consisting of a TPS 77 MANTRA mobile radar of the 4th Telecommunication and Air Defence and Flight Support Systems Brigade of Borgo Piave (4th BTS) functioning as detection of ballistic missile tracks, from a mobile operations room and a satellite communication apparatus of Bari Mobile Command and Control Unit, thus engaging with a very interesting and challenging operating environment.
The radar, deployed in the UK at the West Freugh range, has in fact been integrated into the multinational exercise network, sharing mission data in real time using so-called “Link tactical, secure tactical connections, towards Poggio Renatico and Ramstein in Germany (headquarters of AIRCOM, NATO's Allied Air Command), just as would happen in the event of real operations. In Ramstein, personnel from the Air and Space Operations Command (COA), supported the conduct of operations within the BMDOC (Ballistic Missile Defence Operations Centre) specially formed.
In modern military scenarios, the sharing of the tactical picture of operations and the relative situational awarenesssituational awareness) in real time can make all the difference. All of this is aimed, in NATO's view, at strengthening credibility, capabilities, and interoperability among allied nations, thereby enhancing the deterrence expressed by the Alliance.
For the Italian Air Force, the Formidable Shield it represented an opportunity to gather useful data and a training opportunity in the field of the national missile defence system, highlighting the fruitful synergy between the operational and technical-logistical components of the Armed Force.
