Combat aircraft

Acknowledgments: The authors would like

to thank the Aeronautica Militare and Stato

Maggiore Difesa public affairs offi ce, Col Eros

Zaniboni, Capt Andrea Colotti, NATO HQ AIRCOM

Ramstein and the Estonian Air Force.

transponder signal to keep air tra c

abreast of their location.

‘In order to avoid unnecessary escalation,

we usually maintain a very defensive

posture with the aim to avoid forcing

the situation’, says Zaniboni. The CAOC is

responsible for issuing instructions to the

NATO  ghters, be that to shadow, return to

base, or escalate as required.

With two BAP locations, Zaniboni says,

‘Both deployments have the task of

ensuring coverage of the airspace. Then

it becomes a tactical decision by NATO

whether to intervene with a pair of jets

or with both deployments. If the threat

is on the edge or is inside NATO airspace

we can intervene; if the threat is in the

Swedish or Finnish airspace it becomes

the duty of their jets. However, Sweden

and Finland are both part of Partnership

of Peace and both have liaison o cers

at the CAOC. If there is a threat, there is a

pair of aircraft that is going to intercept it,

from one side or the other.’

Valuable training

Aside from the core QRA role, training

was very much part of the plan for the

Italian pilots, especially in the air-to-air

role. Training with the host nation and

with the allies is valuable during this

kind of deployment. Shortly before

Combat Aircraft arrived in Estonia, the

Euro ghters had begun joint training

with Swedish Gripens. ‘We  y a pre-

agreed scenario generally with a pair

of jets tasked with air defense role

and the other pair simulating a threat

that must be intercepted’, outlined

Zaniboni. This was all in the name of

improving procedural understanding and

interoperability, which has become ever

more important in this region.

Numerous sorties were  own with

the Ohio Air National Guard F-16s that

were deployed to Ämari as part of a

Theater Security Package (TSP). The

F-2000s also  ew against the Estonian

Air Force Antonov An-2 for ‘slow-mover’

intercept training.

The Italian Euro ghter detachment

reportedly enjoyed an enviable level of

reliability. It proved that the deployed

 ghter wings can slot together easily in

order to cover such a commitment.

Above: The BAP

detachment at

Ämari currently

occupies a set

of alert shelters,

although a new

operations facility

is planned.

Left: A pair of jets

emerges into the

crisp morning air

in February.

The Eurofi ghters executed

their fi rst alert launch to

respond to a Russian aircraft on

February 1

http://www.combataircraft.net // May 2018 57

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