The NATO Air and Missile Defence Panel-DG1 met in Galatina. The Air and Missile Defence Committee is the principal political consultative and coordinating body of the Atlantic Council for NATO integrated air and missile defence and related air power and command and control aspects. The Head of Delegation for Italy is the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
The delegates, accompanied by the Permanent Italian Representative to the AMDC, Lieutenant Colonel Dario Tarantino, were welcomed by the Commander of the 61st Wing, Colonel Sergio Cavuoti, who delivered a presentation briefing on the activities of the Salento flight school, which is increasingly engaged in a complex process of internationalisation aimed at accrediting it as a benchmark for advanced flight training, even in a multinational context.
The meeting, organised in coordination with the 3rd Department of the Air Force General Staff, also included a brief introductory visit to the 136th Remote Radar Squadron of Otranto and the new RAT31-DL Radar to offer foreign participants the opportunity to appreciate national industrial capability in the air defence radar sensor segment.
The 61st Wing provides flight training for pilot cadets to obtain their Military Pilot Licence. Furthermore, the Flying School also conducts advanced training courses for military pilots and navigators destined for operational deployment on fighter aircraft, as well as qualification and rating courses for all jet aircraft flying instructors of the Air Force.
