Colonel Morelli leaves the command to Massara. Over 500 flight hours and more than 300 sorties for the Italian "Eurofighter" Typhoon fighters. General Figliuolo: "Demonstrated competence and value of the Italian Armed Forces"
Constanta, 8 April 2023. This week, at the Mihail Kogălniceanu airport in Constanta, the change of command of the Air Task Force "Gladiator", engaged in Romania in the framework of the NATO enhanced Air Policing (eAP) mission, took place. Colonel Michele Morelli has handed over the command to the peer Antonino Massara.
The ceremony took place in the presence of the Operational Commander of the Joint Forces Summit (COVI), Army Corps General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, the Italian Ambassador in Bucharest Alfredo Maria Durante Mangoni, the Commander of the Aerospace Operations Command (COA), Air Force General Claudio Gabellini.
Representing the Romanian authorities, Secretary of State Bachide, Joint Force Commander Lieutenant General Ionita and Air Component Commander General Vrajescu were present.
"You have impeccably fulfilled the task entrusted to Italy by the Atlantic Alliance”, said General Figliuolo, “a fundamental task for the respect of sovereignty and for the defense of Romanian and NATO airspaces. You have been a winning model, from all points of view and the numbers speak for themselves: over 500 flight hours for more than 300 sorties. When operations are successful it means that upstream there has been a lot of training, careful planning and a conducted phase worthy of the name. You have demonstrated the competence and value of the men and women of the Italian Air Force and Armed Forces".
Subsequently, the Commander of the COVI attended the formal passing of the baton at the helm of the TFA between the transferring commander and the incoming one.
General Ionita addressed words of thanks to Italy, which through its Armed Forces, also with the operation in Romania, confirms itself among the main contributing nations for the strengthening of the deterrent posture of the Atlantic Alliance on the eastern flank.
The ceremony concluded with the awarding of the Romanian honor "Defense staff" to Colonel Morelli and the "Emblem of Honor" of the Romanian Air Force to six men and women of the Italian TFA.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, the COVI Commander attended an information update briefing on the current situation and related operational dynamics.
DEEPENING
Air Policing (AP) is a defensive mission that NATO has been conducting for 61 years, with the aim of ensuring the integrity and security of the airspace of all member countries. It is a capability through which the national air defense systems of the individual allied countries are integrated into a single defensive system of our skies, which provides for the joint use of surveillance, command and control systems, up to the use of interceptor fighters. In this way, the allies share the use of platforms, personnel and professionalism, reducing costs and maximizing the ability to intervene in the third dimension.
After the Russian Federation's aggression against Ukraine, the mission was implemented with enhanced Air Policing (eAP) activities in favor of Eastern European NATO countries. This complex of operations is carried out under the command and control of the Combined Air Operations Centers (CAOC) and under the supervision of the Allied Air Command (AIRCOM).