One of the most delicate and complex phases of the SABER STRIKE 2018 exercise, which sees the Italian Armed Forces operate alongside the allied soldiers of different nations with the paratroopers of the brigade, concluded in recent days in Germany, Latvia and Poland thunderbolt and the air assets of the 46 ^ Air Brigade of the Air Force. In this context of exercise, a "Coalition of the Willings" tackles a "hybrid" enemy in a scenario characterized by maximum realism.
The purpose of the exercise is to consolidate the professional, technical and tactical skills of Armed Forces personnel belonging to the various specialties and nations to strengthen, integrate interoperability and standardize the application of the procedures of the units that make up the Airborne Community called to respond to an international crisis situation.
Among the paratroopers of the thunderbolt, under the direct command and tactical control of the 82nd division and the 173rd infantry brigade combat team (Airborne) in Latvia, the explorers of the 186th parachute regiment thunderbolt they operated as a unit of Long Range Surveillance integrating the ability of the aviation launch with the free fall technique with expertise in driving patrol and with the ability to search and acquire information aimed at identifying and checking in advance the launch and landing areas.
The identification of these zones, necessary to guarantee the introduction of the most substantial force rate, achieves one Joint Forcible Entry in a semi-permissive environment which consists of an Avioportata operation to support the entry into the theater of successive groups of forces. This exercise represents a verification by the thunderbolt not only of the new capacity, but an enrichment of the Italian armed forces that have equipped themselves with a new instrument of interoperability with the other armed forces of NATO and Airborne Community.
In the exercise days, CDS airing activities have taken place (Container Delivery System) to supply and deliver equipment to troops deployed on the ground, where the Air Force using a C130J aircraft, tactical transport aircraft suitable for landing on particularly short and unpaved tracks, supported the ground units.
The exercise represents an excellent opportunity and a significant return for the Defense in terms of interoperability and integration with the foreign armed forces and maximization of the training value due to the realism of the scenario and for the use of the various national and international specialized structures .
