This ceremony for the tenth anniversary of the establishment of the 9th ISTAR-EW (Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting, Acquisition Reconnaissance – Electronic Warfare) Air Brigade was held on December 5th at the Pratica di Mare military airport. It was presided over by the Commander of the Unit, Air Brigadier General Danilo Morando, and attended by numerous military and civilian authorities, as well as representatives of currently serving and retired personnel, including General Sandro Sampaoli, the first Commander of the 9th ISTAR-EW Air Brigade.
A story, that of the 9th Air Brigade, which has had several chapters and a glorious past. The current unit indeed originates from what was the 9th Air Brigade “Leone”, established in 1940 in Marawa, Libya, and which after the war period was re-established first in Padua and then in Ferrara, where it remained operational until 1942. From November 1997 to June 2006 it was operational again, for the first time at Pratica di Mare airport, where from 1st December 2013 it is, in fact, re-established with the role and designation “ISTAR-EW”, under the command of the Air Expeditionary Force.
The winged lion, which embodies the traditions of the Marcian Lion from the 87th Long-Range Reconnaissance Squadron “Serenissima,” formed on 2 February 1918, still appears on the Brigade's emblem and indicates that the mission has not changed over time, but rather evolved. To that first company, during the wartime period, are owed the first long-range photographic reconnaissance missions, a prestigious undertaking that foreshadowed ISTAR capabilities and those that have since become the modern “Information Operations”Consider, for example, the first drop of propaganda leaflets over the skies of Vienna, carried out by some daring crews of the “Serenissima,” including Major Gabriele D’Annunzio, on 9 August 1918.
“The Brigade has a mission of high importance, both operational and strategic, as the management of information nowadays is an increasingly decisive factor for the success of operations., General Morando said in his speech. Its mission, which has its roots in the dawn of the Armed Force, can be summarised as providing the best possible information support to decision-makers, building and updating an information asset that is fundamental, to say the least. This characteristic places the Brigade among the enabling capabilities that make up the Front Line proving essential in ensuring the defence and security of the country. General Morando then wanted to highlight the commitment of the men and women of the Brigade in this first decade of its existence, “a tangible contribution to the preparation and conduct of numerous activities at home and complex operations outside national borders, ensuring a constant and unfailing contribution in favour of the Operational Units of the Air Squadron Command and the Aerospace Operations Command of Poggio Renatico and the Alliance.
The mission of the 9th ISTAR-EW Brigade is to conduct operational, information, and support activities in the ISTAR-EW sector, synthesising all currently available capabilities within the Armed Force in this area, as well as contributing to the achievement and maintenance of operational readiness of the dependent Units: ReSTOGE, CIGA and CNMCA.
