Lucca Capannori Airport – 17 September 2024
The Griffin Exercise 2024 represents one of the most significant events in the panorama of emergency operational simulations in Italy. Organized annually by the Air Force, in collaboration with the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS) and other realities of the national civil protection system, This exercise is designed to test and improve coordinated response capability in emergency situations involving rescue in mountainous and rugged environments.
Objectives and context of the exercise
The Griffin 2024 it fits into the broader framework of emergency prevention and management initiatives that concern the mountain area, one of the most delicate and difficult areas to manage in the event of a disaster. Italy, with its complex orography, has a long tradition of interventions in mountain areas, where factors such as difficulty of access, adverse weather conditions and poor telephone coverage make rescue operations extremely complex.
The main objective of the exercise is to test the effectiveness of the synergy between the different forces in the field: from the land units of the CNSAS to the aircraft of the Air Force and other participating air forces, up to local authorities and voluntary organisations. Through simulated scenarios that recreate accidents at high altitude, dude, avalanches or the search for missing persons in inaccessible areas, Grifone 2024 aims to test the reaction capacity and speed of interventions.
Structure and execution of operations
The exercise involves a series of activities spread over several days, with an operational base in an Italian mountain location chosen year after year. Operations involve a highly integrated command and control network, which includes teams of rescuers on foot, helicopters for rapid transport and recovery of injured people, and communications technical support units.
The planning phase is crucial: each exercise is designed down to the smallest detail to reproduce realistic situations. Teams face logistical challenges, such as managing a victim with serious trauma in a place that is difficult to access, or the coordination of multiple rescue vehicles in the limited airspace of the Alpine valleys.
In addition to the terrestrial component, the exercise makes extensive use of air resources. The helicopters of the Air Force and other entities collaborate in the transport of rescue personnel, in the recovery of the injured and in the reconnaissance of the areas involved in emergency scenarios.
This year the machines involved were 10:
– Army Aviation (UH-90A)
– Navy (MH-101A)
– Air Force (HH-139B e 2 TH-500)
– Carabinieri (UH-139D)
– State Police (AW-139)
– Financial Police (MH-169)
– Port Authorities / Coast Guard (AW-139)
– Air Force (S-76)
International participation and cooperation
The Grifone exercise is not just a national event. Also in the 2024, international participation is a key element. Delegations and rescue units from European and non-European countries join Italy to share techniques, operational protocols and methodologies. This cooperation strengthens ties between the rescue forces of different countries and creates a support network ready to activate in case of real emergencies that may involve multiple nations.
Conclusion
Grifone 2024 It is therefore configured as a moment of crucial importance for the entire Italian civil protection system. Through the simulation of complex and realistic scenarios, the exercise allows rescuers to test new technologies, strengthen cooperation between different forces in the field and continuously improve the country's operational capabilities in the face of natural disasters and accidents in harsh environments.
The experience accumulated during these days of exercises will have positive repercussions on the management of real emergencies, strengthening the operational readiness of the personnel involved e, above all, increasing the chances of saving lives in extremely difficult contexts.
This year's exercise, which involved a total of approximately 450 people, ended early due to an accident involving a Yakovlev YAK-18T with French markings, with on board 3 people, who was declared missing in the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines. The exercise, in this case, it was immediately transformed into an operational event with the coordination of the Air Force.
Sources:
Text: AviaSpotter.it
Photo: Irene Pantaleoni
