Exercise "Red Flag 19-2" began yesterday at Nellis Air Force Base (AFB), in Nevada (USA). For the first time, a department of multinational F-35As (USA, Italy and Norway), the 62nd Fighter Squadron of Luke AFB, takes part in this historic exercise, to which three Italian instructors are also assigned. The group, belonging to the 56th Fighter Wing, has as its mission the training of pilots and instructors on F-35A aircraft.
Italy is engaged, for the first time in one of the most complex aerial exercises in the world, with the F-35A aircraft, the most advanced fifth generation weapon system in existence: with low observability (stealth), exceptional and unique superior information management capabilities, it will be the main protagonist and fundamental enabler of the complex scenarios of the Red Flag, which include advanced and modern air and ground threats, and whose mission objectives can only be achieved through high interoperability, integration and synergy between participating fourth and fifth generation aircraft assets.
"The F35 is able to see where previous generation aircraft can't see," said Maj. Giuseppe A., one of the Italian instructors participating in the exercise and who emphasized how "the F35 is capable of countering and eliminating very advanced threats that instead cannot see us; at the same time this information can be passed on to allied aircraft . All this allows us to carry out missions in the presence of threats with the use of a number of assets reduced by even half compared to the past.
The Red Flag aims to operate the aircraft jointly, consolidating the capabilities of use of the weapon systems supplied, validating the respective operational tactics and with particular emphasis on integration between the assets. With reference to the use of the F-35A component, the Italian pilots will play leading roles, conducting missions as a tactical leader. There will be more than 60 platforms in flight simultaneously, including: F-35A, F-15E, F-15C, F-15SA, F-15SE, F-16A MLU, F-16E Block 60, E / A -18G, B-1B, KC-135 Tanker, E-8 JSTAR, EA-3C AWACS, MQ-9, HH-60, HC-130J, KC-767 Tanker.
"The Italian participation also has a further importance: the long and delicate organization of the exercise for the 62ndFighter Squadron was entrusted, for the first time, to a non-American but Italian instructor, Major Alessandro P., as Project Officer "commented col. Igor Bruni, commander of the Italian Military Representation, "a tangible sign of the recognized professionalism of our pilots in the international arena".
The Pilots Section at the headquarters of Luke (Arizona) reports to the Italian Military Representation of Eglin (Florida), an inter-force reality, reporting directly to the Directorate of Program JSF of the General Secretariat of Defense, which is in charge of managing the training of all Italian military personnel (sailors, technicians and maintenance personnel), both of the Air Force and of the Navy, designated to operate on the national F-35 aircraft, in the "A" versions with conventional take-off and "B" with short take-off and vertical landing .
Photo: US Air Force / Aeronautica Militare
