From 15 to 17 May, personnel and two transport aircraft C-130J of the 46th Air Brigade have been employed in the field of Swift Response 25, an annual training event that saw the participation of numerous allied nations, including Italy.
The exercise focused on Allied airborne forces, with the objective of making them capable of responding promptly and rapidly to a crisis through interoperable and multinational teams. The primary aim was to enhance the capabilities to conduct large-scale manoeuvres in Europe, under the leadership of multinational forces, to increase the ’common strategic effect“.
Specifically, on 15 May, the first C-130J departed from Pisa bound for Saarbrucken, Germany. Here it loaded paratroopers from the 183rd “Nembo” Parachute Regiment and the 185th “Folgore” Parachute Artillery Regiment of the Italian Army for a freefall drop near Memel, Lithuania, followed by a landing in Kaunas, also in Lithuania. The following day, one C-130J departed from Kaunas and another from Pisa, both bound for Cerklje, Slovenia. Here they loaded paratroopers from the 187th “Folgore” Parachute Regiment of the Army and paratroopers from the US 173rd Airborne Brigade, stationed in Vicenza, for a subsequent operation using the Special Heliborne Operation (S.H.O.R.E.S.) technique near Memel.
The exercise objectives included command and control interoperability, low-level tactical navigation in formation flying, high and low-altitude personnel airdrops, and the use of common tactics, techniques, and procedures in the airlift and tactical airdrop sector. The two C-130Js carried out formation flying and paratrooper drops, demonstrating an effective capability to conduct a “mass airdrop” within a multinational context. The exercise thus enhanced interoperability with allied partners in the execution of airborne missions.
