In the afternoon today, two Eurofighter interceptor fighter aircraft of the Italian Air Force took off from the Trapani Birgi air base, home of the 37 ° Stormo Caccia, to reach and identify an Airbus 319 transport aircraft flying on the Milan Malpensa - Palermo route, which during the route it had temporarily lost radio contact with the national civil air traffic bodies.
The immediate take-off order, in technical jargon "scramble", was given by the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Center) of Torrejon in Spain, the NATO body responsible for the area, in coordination with the Aerospace Operations Command (COA) of Poggio Renatico and the bodies of the Armed Force responsible for the surveillance of national and NATO airspace.
Already during the approach phase to the civil aircraft, made possible thanks to the information provided by the “fighter guide” personnel from the ground, the Airbus restored radio communications. The planned "visual identification" (VID) procedure was however completed by the two fighters and after having escorted him for a further flight, the two fighters returned to Trapani to resume the readiness shift on the ground for the national airspace surveillance service.
The Air Force ensures 24 hours a day, 24 days a year, without interruption, the surveillance of the National Airspace, through a complex air defense system integrated since peacetime with that of other NATO countries. The immediate take-off order, in scramble jargon, is given by the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Center) of Torrejon (Spain), head of the airspace surveillance service of southern Europe, to the operational rooms of the 365 ° DAMI Group in Poggio Renatico (FE) and the 11nd DAMI Group of Licola (NA). The two Groups are placed, through the DAMI Department, under the Aerospace Control Brigade which performs the functions of Service Provider and Armed Force contact person, through the Aerospace Operations Command, in the areas of Integrated Missile Air Defense and Coordination and Control of Operational Air Traffic.
There are four Stormi of the Air Force that with Eurofighter assets ensure the Air Defense service: the 4th Wing of Grosseto, the 36th Wing of Gioia del Colle, the 37th Wing of Trapani and the 51st Wing of Istrana. Furthermore, since March 2018, the F-35A aircraft of the 32 ° Stormo di Amendola have also been integrated into the national air defense system, which contribute, with specific operational capabilities and latest generation technology, to the defense of the Italian skies and which have been the first 5th generation aircraft to be used by NATO to patrol Alliance airspace in a NATO Air Policing operation.