Over 250 people took part in the simulated exercise held at the Poggio Renatico Air Base
Having familiarised themselves with the structure and operating procedures of the command and control centre, known as the Joint Force Air Component Command (JFACC), over 250 personnel were involved in operational planning and the execution of an air campaign directed, coordinated and controlled by a JFACC-AOC (Air Operations Centre).
For the first time this year, space weather events were also simulated, following which personnel were called upon to find strategies to mitigate their effects, such as electromagnetic radiation, the magnetic field, and solar plasma and matter, in order to mitigate the impacts on assets in orbit, in flight and on the ground, thereby safeguarding the achievement of the mission.
During the three weeks of activities, the exercise areas were visited, amongst others, by Air Squad General Paolo Magro, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, and General Frank Gorenc, Commander of the NATO Air Component and of United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa.
For the second consecutive year, ENAV, the company responsible for the provision of air navigation services to civil air traffic, also took part in the exercise. With a team of Air Traffic Controllers and Model Based Simulation specialists, it cooperated with military personnel in order to optimise the dual use of airspace during the crisis simulation.
Other major national organisations, such as Poste Italiane through its subsidiary Mistral Air, and ASSAEROPORTI, also took part in Virtual Flag 13.
“Il Resto del Carlino”
TMNews service Special Space TV
