The Air Force participated in the course, which began on Monday 13 January, with four Eurofighters of the 4th Wing of Grosseto and of the 37th Wing of Trapani, two Tornado ECR of the 50th Wing of Piacenza, two Tornado IDS of the 6th Wing of Ghedi, two AMX of the 51st Stormo of Istrana, a tanker KC-767A of the 14th Stormo of Pratica di Mare as support structure during refueling missions in flight, two AB-212s of the 9th Stormo of Grazzanise and a group of rescue aerosols as an "extraction team" , composed of personnel from the 9th Wing and the 15th Wing of Cervia, as part of the CSAR (Combat Search and Rescue) missions, an Intelligence officer from the 50th Wing, an interception controller from the Poggio Air Defense Control and Reporting Group Renatico and staff of the ReSTOGE (Operational Technical Support Department for Electronic Warfare) of Pratica di Mare.
The results achieved were excellent, both in terms of sprints and training objectives achieved. Among the most interesting aspects that have characterized the 2014-1 flight course it is necessary to mention the effective use of the Link16 by the KC767A during refueling operations in flight. The possibility of entering the network with such a large number of aircraft and sharing information such as, for example, the PPLI (Precise Participant Location and Identification) is an essential element in the construction of the Air Picture, both for the settings in flight and for ground control agencies. To highlight also the use, with excellent results, of the reconnaissance pod by the AMX and the Tornadoes.
The crews and support staff were engaged, for the four weeks of the course, in the planning, conduct and execution of COMAO (Composite Air Operations - Joint Air Operations) on the basis of scenarios that simulated the different contexts in which air power can be employed. The level of challenge with which the participants were confronted was high considering the presence of numerous aircraft as "aggressors", such as 2 American F15s, 2 Spanish F18s, 2 Spanish Eurofighters, 2 Italian Eurofighters, 2 French Alphajets, as well as a Spanish DA20 and four helicopters (1 Caracal and 1 Puma and 2 AB212). Also for the 2014-1 flight course, the participants benefited from the use of Link-16 workstations made available by the Spanish air force, equipped with complex simulation capabilities and able to present a complete "air picture". The capabilities of RTMS (Real Time Monitoring System) that the Spanish system is able to support allow the instructor staff of the TLP to present very complex and stimulating missions, interact in real time, adapting the scenario with appropriate "injects" in order to maximize the "learning objectives", as well as to monitor the execution of the planned activity by exercising some command and control functions.
The Tactical Leadership Program (TLP), which has been based at the Albacete Air Base in Spain since July 2009, is an organization founded on the basis of a "Memorandum of Understanding" signed by 10 Nations (Italy, Spain, United States, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Holland, Greece, Germany and Denmark). Italy joined the TLP as a signatory nation in January 1996. Its mission is to improve the effectiveness of the air operations conducted by the Allied Forces by promoting the development of assertive leadership skills and the skills of analysis, planning, execution and evaluation. of "combined" aerial activities required of a "mission commander". The TLP actively collaborates with NATO on the basis of a "Letter of Agreement" signed by the two Organizations.
Source: Tactical Leadership Program - Albacete - t.col. Marco Mastroberti
