On Wednesday 27 October, the handover ceremony took place with General B.A. Quattrociocchi, in the presence of General D.A. Draghi, Commander of the CSV. The ceremony was attended by numerous military, political and religious dignitaries, including the Vice-President of the Region of Sardinia, the Honourable Sebastiano Sannitu, the Prefect of Cagliari, Dr Giovanni Balsamo, and the Prefect of Nuoro, Dr Pietro Lisi. General Draghi highlighted the operational capabilities of the Joint Forces Training Range, which are consistently maintained to high standards of quality and safety, thanks in part to its most valuable resource: the professional skills of the personnel stationed at Perdasdefogu. General Quattrociocchi is stepping down from his post to take up the role of Commander of ‘Mario De Bernbardi’ Airport in Pratica di Mare (Rome) by November. General Bonotto, born in 1953, joined the Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli (Naples) in 1972 as part of the ‘Nibbio III‘ intake. In 1976, he attended the basic jet pilot training school in Lecce, and in 1977 he obtained his pilot’s licence for the G91T aircraft at the Amendola (Foggia) flight school. From 1978 to 1991, he served with the 156th Flight Group at Gioia del Colle (Bari), first as a pilot and later as Group Commander.In 1984, he obtained his Tornado aircraft rating at the Tri-National School in Cottesmore (United Kingdom). After holding a number of posts at the Operations Office of the 36th Wing, he was reassigned to the 156th Group until 1990. During the Gulf War, he took on the role of Deputy Commander until the end of operations, also taking part in various air missions. In 1993, he was transferred to the Air Force General Staff, Planning and Operations Department, Aerotactical Aircraft Section. In September 1995, he was posted to Ghedi Airport (Brescia), where he assumed command of the 6th Wing. During his command, he took part in air operations over the former Yugoslavia. In the summer of 1997, he was posted to the Air Warfare School in Florence as Head of the Research Office. In 2000, he was posted to Pristina Airport in Kosovo, where he served as Head of the Operations Office and Deputy Commander of the Italian Detachment, responsible for organising the airport’s operational activities. In the summer of 2001, he was posted to the Air Force Operational Command (COFA) in Vicenza as Head of the Logistics Division. He was promoted to Air Brigadier in January 2002. In the same year, he commanded Operation ’Corona’, which saw the King of Afghanistan return to his homeland. In 2003, following the transfer of COFA from Vicenza to Ferrara, he served as Commander of the Operational Support Unit until 2007. From September 2007 to September 2010, he served as Military and Defence Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Ottawa (Canada). General Bonotto has logged over 2,800 flying hours on various aircraft, including 2,400 hours on the F-104AS fighter and the Tornado in the fighter-bomber role. Among his various honours are: Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic; the Gold Medal for Long-Term Air Service; the Commemorative Medal for Operations in Afghanistan; the NATO Commemorative Medal for Bosnia and Herzegovina; the NATO Commemorative Medal for Kosovo; the Commemorative Cross with Crossed Swords for Military Operations in the Persian Gulf region, a medal conferred by the Sovereign of Saudi Arabia, and the Saudi Commemorative Medal for the Liberation of Kuwait. He is married and has two children. The PISQ, the only national joint-forces test range and one of the few in Europe, is responsible for preparing and implementing the operational, technical and logistical conditions necessary for carrying out assigned experimental activities, relating in particular to the testing and trialling of missiles, rockets and their associated launch and guidance systems, and training activities, which concern missile platforms of the various Armed Forces, as well as units at various levels for training in the use of the weapons in service. These activities benefit both the Armed Forces, in terms of improving technical and operational knowledge of the systems in service, and industry, thanks to the support provided for the development and fine-tuning of next-generation systems. In the field of testing, the PISQ also provides services for the collection, acquisition, recording, analysis and presentation of data relating to individual tests.
