In the late morning today, an Air Force Eurofighter interceptor fighter aircraft took off from the Istrana air base, home of the 51st Wing, to reach and identify a private German aircraft, which took off from Hamburg and headed for Corsica which during the route 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.
The interception and "visual identification" (VID), which took place near the Island of Elba, was made possible thanks to the coordinates and information provided by the "hunting guide" staff from the ground. After having escorted the aircraft for a further flight, the Eurofighter of the 51st Wing returned to Istrana to resume the ground readiness shift for the surveillance service of the national airspace and the civil aircraft continued on the pre-established route.
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.