The fighters got up during the night to intercept a civil aircraft that had interrupted communications with the air traffic control agencies
Last night, shortly after 23 pm, two F-30 Eurofighter fighters of the Italian Air Force, in readiness for the airspace surveillance service, took off quickly from the Grosseto air base, home of the 2000th Wing, to intercept a ATR-4 civil aircraft of Polish nationality which, flying over the Italian territory on the Skopje-Leipzig route, had interrupted communications with the air traffic control bodies.
The Eurofighters quickly intercepted the aircraft on the Adriatic Sea and, as required by the procedures, checked the situation of the aircraft and made sure that the crew had restored radio contacts with the air traffic bodies. The two aircraft then returned to base to resume readiness service.
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 that the immediate intervention order 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.
There are three Eurofighter Storms, which the Aeronautica Militare 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 of Istrana.
The chain also includes the 11 ° DAMI Group (Airborne Integrated Missile Defense) of Poggio Renatico (FE) and the 22 ° Radar Group of Licola (NA), which have the task of leading the Air Defense assets by providing the necessary information to intercept potential air threats. The airspace monitoring activity is carried out by specialized and trained personnel, who have the qualification of Surveillance Controller or Interception Controller.