An F-2000 Eurofighter of the Italian Air Force, in readiness for the airspace surveillance service, quickly took off this morning from the Istrana air base (TV), headquarters of the 51st Wing, to intercept a civil aircraft Gulfstream IV took off from Tel Aviv - Ben-Gurion Airport (Israel) and headed for Samedan (Switzerland), which had lost radio contact with air traffic control (ATC) operators during the flight over the national airspace.
The immediate take-off order - in technical "scramble" jargon - was given by the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Center) of Torrejon in Spain, a NATO body responsible for the area, in coordination with the Poggio Renatico Air Operations Command (COA) and the Armed Forces bodies appointed to oversee national and NATO airspace.
The “fighter guide” personnel of the 11th DAMI Group of Poggio Renatico provided the Eurofighter pilot in flight with the information necessary to intercept the aircraft that was flying over national airspace. Arriving in the affected area, the F-2000 Eurofighter of the 51 ° Stormo di Istrana identified the civil aircraft that was flying over the national airspace in the skies between the Venice Lagoon and Mestre for the planned VId (Visual Identification) and after having ascertained that there were no emergency conditions, he escorted him to the border of the national airspace.
The complex defense system by which the Air Force ensures the surveillance of the national airspace without interruption is integrated, even in times of peace, with that of the other countries belonging to NATO.
The alert chain for this type of event and for airspace violations provides in fact that the order of immediate intervention of the fighters ("scramble") is given by the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Center) of Torrejon (Spain), the NATO body responsible for the airspace surveillance service in the area that integrates the surveillance and control capabilities of the 11 ° DAMI group and 22 ° Radar group.
There are three flocks equipped with Eurofighter assets, which the Air Force uses for the Air Defense service: the 4 ° Stormo of Grosseto, the 36 ° Stormo of Gioia del Colle and the 37 ° Stormo of Trapani, which feed in turn , as needed, also a temporary cell at the base of the 51 ° Stormo di Istrana. Furthermore, since March 2018, the F35 aircraft of Amendola's 32 ° Stormo have been integrated into the Air Defense system, contributing, with specific operational capabilities and latest generation technology, to the defense of Italian skies.
The NATO air defense chain also includes the 11 ° DAMI Group (Integrated Missile Air Defense) of Poggio Renatico (FE) and the 22 ° Radar Group of Licola (NA), whose controllers are responsible for spotting and identifying all the air traffic that operates in the national air space and control the Air Defense assets to intercept potential air threats.
The national Air Operation Center carries out fundamental tasks in the organization of the air defense service and constantly supervises the correct functioning of the device. If there is a non-military threat to the Italian airspace, the IT-AOC resumes the command of the intercepting aircraft entrusted to NATO, for the subsequent enforcement action. This occurs when a civil aircraft transiting through the national airspace shows an anomalous conduct and, therefore, potentially dangerous for safety, or if it requires air support for technical problems that compromise the safety of the flight, as in today's case, due to the loss of radio communications.