The TLP Flying Course concluded with two crews from the 4th Wing of Grosseto qualifying as Mission Commander on Friday 28th February at the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) in Albacete (Spain), the first one has concluded Flying Course 2020, during which two crews from the 4th Wing of Grosseto achieved the qualification of Mission Commander. Personnel and assets from five nations (Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece and France) took part in the course, totalling 32 aircraft comprising “Blue Air”, “Red Air” and support assets. For the Italian Air Force, two flight course participants took part crews of the 4th Wing of Grosseto by aircraft Eurofighter carrying out air-to-air activities. Among other things, they provided support to the course in CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) and UAR (Unconventional Assistent Recovery) missions, jointly with French assets, two helicopters HH139 del 82nd CSAR Centre in Trapani and 85th CSAR Centre from Pratica di Mare and an Extraction Team from the 17th Wing of Furbara. The UAR mission also saw the participation of a C-130J of the 46th BrigadeAereaof Pisa which, jointly with a United States C-130, was used as the primary asset intended for the recovery of isolated personnel in a non-permissive environment. During the three weeks of the course, the crews took turns in the key position of Mission Commander, a figure whose task is to coordinate with the other speciality leaders the various phases of the planning of a “Composite Air Operations” (COMAO), thereby training in the management and employment of multiple assets with specific capabilities, coming from different countries. All the proposed scenarios involved the use of an asset “too bad”, this led crews to plan all missions and operate in a non-permissive electromagnetic environment. A novel element of this Flying Course was the new airspace which, thanks to its expanded size, made it possible to increase fighting time and propose scenarios that required greater exposure in hostile territory, rigorously testing the capabilities of the participating assets. Also taking part in the course was a fighter controller from the 11th DAMI Group of Poggio Renatico who, together with three other controllers from Spain, Greece and the United States, took on the role of Air Defence Commander, tasked with managing the airspace during the various planning phases and facilitating coordination with command and control agencies (AWACS and CRC).
The TLP, which has been based at Albacete Air Base since July 2009, is an organisation established on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) signed by 10 signatory nations: Italy, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Denmark. Its mission is to improve the effectiveness of air operations conducted by Allied Forces, promoting the development of both assertive leadership skills and the analysis, planning and execution capabilities specific to a Mission Commander. Furthermore, the TLP actively collaborates with NATO on the basis of a Letter of Agreement signed by the two organisations.
