Goes up to 25 the total number of "scrambles" for the Eurofighter aircraft of the TFA 4th Wing engaged in the NATO Air Policing mission
Malbork (Poland) 29 below 2024
Busy period for Task Force Air (TFA) 4th Wing of the Air Force deployed on Malbork air base, in Poland: I'm 11 the take-offs on alarm – in technical jargon “scramble” – carried out only in the last two weeks, for a total of 25 since the Eurofighter aircraft are redeployed in Poland to defend the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance as part of the NATO enhanced Air Policing mission.
A period of intense activity, in which Italy and the other NATO nations involved in Air Policing missions are working jointly, as a cohesive team, to demonstrate NATO's deterrence capability. In particular, la Task Force Air 4th Wing, to ensure air defense in the Baltic region, has carried out to date with its own Eurofighter aircraft 500 flight hours between training activities and real activations.
A further operational step in the context of Italian participation in the defense of the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance is the use of the Gulfstream E-550A CAEW aircraft (Conformal Airborne Early Warning), asset deployed for the first time in Poland since last May as an integral part of the Air Task Force, which allowed Italy - the only NATO country to have this aircraft online - to provide a fundamental contribution to the safety of air operations and to play a strategic role within the Atlantic Alliance for the defense of airspace.
The Air Task Force 4th Wing operates four Eurofighter aircraft (F-2000) coming from four air defense wings of the Italian Air Force: 4° Grosseto Wing, 36° Flock of Gioia del Colle, 37° Trapani Wing and 51st Wing of Istrana and the E-550A CAEW of the 14th Wing of Pratica di Mare. Thanks to these aircraft it is possible to guarantee take-off and interception of any suspicious trace detected by radar in a few minutes, 24 hours 24, 365 days a year. The Italian contingent, placed under the direct national dependence of COVI (Joint Forces Summit Operational Command), is made up of women and men of the Air Force from the flight groups and technical and logistical personnel, deployed at the Krolewo airport in Malbork, which operate alongside the Polish Air Force to protect the north-eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. This is the second time that an Italian contingent has been used in Poland in enhanced Air Policing operations (eAP).
Text and photos: Ministry of Defence
