what was the second Icelandic stint for
the F-2000s, which previously deployed
here in 2013.
In short order after the northern trip,
the Italian Euro ghters were readied for
the summer heat of Bulgaria as from July
they headed to Graf Ignatievo to jointly
secure the regional airspace.
Dubbed ‘Task Force Air 4° Stormo —
Operation Bulgarian Horse’, the mission
started on July 7 and concluded at the
beginning of November after 500 hours
of ight operations. It involved four
aircraft that worked hand-in-hand with
the Bulgarian Air Force, manning QRA
and ying joint interoperability and core
training missions. Of note is the fact that
T
HE EUROFIGHTER F2000, as
it is known in Italian service,
is today the bastion of the
country’s air defense mission
and rmly established with
the 4° Stormo at Grosseto, 36°
Stormo at Gioia del Colle and 37° Stormo
at Trapani. The Italian Euro ghter wings
have also been called upon to ful ll
NATO air policing missions, notably
during 2017 deploying to Iceland and
to Bulgaria.
To kick things o in 2017, the
Aeronautica Militare decided to
reorganize its domestic air defense
system, and in January it set about
moving the rotational quick reaction
alert (QRA) detachment from Cameri to
Istrana to better protect Italy’s north-
eastern approaches.
The rst NATO commitment of
2017 ran from March 17 until April 14
and saw the Italian F-2000s policing
Iceland’s airspace under Task Force
Air Northern Ice. Two jets from each
of the three wings deployed with
around 140 personnel to Ke avík and
mounted a constant QRA cycle, with a
pair of aircraft on alert. In addition, the
detachment ew daily training missions
from this rather austere location, where
the weather can uctuate signi cantly.
The six Euro ghters logged some 160
ight hours throughout the period, in
Above left to right:
Engines running
and ready to taxi
from a dark and
damp hardened
aircraft shelter at
Kefl avík.
Col Moris Ghiadoni
led the Italian
detachment in
Bulgaria.
Below: Pre-fl ight
checks of a
live AIM-120C
Advanced
Medium-Range
Air-to-Air Missile
(AMRAAM).
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