In the context of the more complex NATO Exercise Trident Juncture 2018, held in Norway from 25 October to 7 November, the Italian Air Force deployed a team of Forward Air Refuelling Point (FARP) specialists to support the exercise. This represents one of the highly specialised operational capabilities of the Air Force, used for refuelling rotary-wing aircraft in a “difficult” environment. Composed of seven personnel from the 3rd Wing in Villafranca (VR), the “FARP Team” was deployed to a base near the town of Tynset, moving, when activated, to the airstrip at Rena in support of the Task Force formed by American helicopters from the 12th CAB – Combat Aviation Battalion and Slovenian forces.
The geographical context and the particular time of year meant that the team had to operate in rather harsh climatic conditions, with minimum temperatures reaching -19°C. However, these difficulties have allowed for testing capability in adverse weather conditions.
In particular, the redeployment to Norway provided the 3rd Wing personnel with an important opportunity to train and demonstrate their capabilities in more complex situations and, above all, to strengthen cohesion and collaboration with the air components of allied nations.
Under the command of the Air Logistics Command's Support Service, the 3rd Wing is the branch of the Armed Force that expresses “expeditionary and deployable air logistics capabilities” for the Combat Support and Combat Service Support components of the Air Expeditionary Task Force (AETF), through the use of technologies and means of so-called “dual” character, as these capabilities can be employed for both military purposes and civilian needs, useful for the national community, in the event of major events and disasters. In this context, the FARP capability was employed, for example, during the rescue operations initiated following the earthquake that struck Central Italy in 2016.
