On Tuesday 2 March, the Air Squad Commander, accompanied by Col. Colonna, was welcomed by Col. Sulig. General Pollice, accompanied for the occasion by the Commander of the Joint Air Task Force (JATF), Colonel Maurizio Colonna, subsequently met all the personnel in ‘blue’ employed in the various branches of the RCW, whom he congratulated “for the commitment, dedication and professionalism with which, day after day, they work for the mission, bringing prestige to the Armed Force and to the Country”. The components and specialities of the Air Force present in the Afghan theatre are varied and complex, of which the JATF is the one most directly involved in supporting Operation ISAF (International Security Assistance Force). The ‘Black Cats’ Task Force employs AM-X ground-attack aircraft for RECCE Lite (Air Reconnaissance) and CAS (Close Air Support) missions, close air support for national and allied forces on the ground, with pilots and specialists from the 51st Wing of Istrana (Treviso) and the 32nd Wing of Amendola (Foggia). The ‘Astore’ Task Force with RQ1C Predator RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems), also from the 32nd Wing, is employed in ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, TArgeting, Recognition) missions. There is then a rotary-wing component at the ‘Tigre’ Task Force equipped with AB-212 ICO (Operational Capability Implementation) helicopters, from the 9th Wing of Grazzanise (Caserta), qualified for a wide range of missions: from CASEVAC (CASualties EVACuation) to MEDEVAC (MEDical EVACuation), also in favour of the local population, from NEO (No-combatant Evaquation Operation) operations to joint operations with Special Forces.
The ‘Albatross’ Task Force, using personnel and C130J aircraft from the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, ensures intra-theatre tactical transport to the various FOBs (Forward Operating Bases) scattered throughout the Regional Command West Area of Operations and, in collaboration with other Coalition countries, undertakes links within ISAF's ITAS (Intra-Theatre Air Transport System).
The ‘ground’ component of the Air Force is also present in the Operational Theatre, represented by the Air Riflemen of the 16th Wing of Martina Franca (Taranto), with Force Protection duties for the defence of installations, and a canine component, part of the Joint Task Force ‘K-9’, specialising in the deployment of dogs trained to search for and detect explosives, particularly in the inspection of transport vehicles and the search for IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices).
From the beginning of 2010, within the ISAF mission, the AM-X fighter-bombers have flown over 325 hours, the C-130J transport aircraft have flown approximately 150 hours, while the Predator unmanned aerial vehicles have flown over 250 hours, and the AB-212 rotary-wing assets have flown approximately 170 hours.
