The farewell ceremony to the historic Breguet P-41 aircraft was held yesterday at the Sigonella base, home of the 1150 ° Stormo Antisom Atlantic, replaced by the new P-72A aircraft, which was officially presented during the ceremony. The event was attended by the Chiefs of Staff of the Navy, team Admiral Valter Girardelli and Air Force, Air Force General Enzo Vecciarelli, together with Leonardo representatives and regional civil authorities from the provinces of Catania and Syracuse, in whose reality Sigonella airport has always been deeply integrated.
Admiral Girardelli highlighted that "there is a need to continue to be able to dispose of means capable of conducting defense activities, even from the underwater threat and, at the same time, not to waste the precious know-how so unique and difficult to reconstruct as that painstakingly achieved and jealously guarded by the antisom aviation personnel thanks to specific and constant training, as well as the experience gained in thousands of hours of flight in the skies, in patrolling the sea, in operations and in operational and training activities."
General Vecciarelli underlined in his speech that "the Air Force will give all the support to the Navy, with a renewed integration of our abilities and I hope that this experience at the 41 ° Stormo can give birth to an ever wider collaboration, which sees the fusion of the capacities of both, always with the only goal of defending our social values ". Always Vecciarelli reiterated the importance of "take inspiration from virtuous examples, with a new spirit of collaboration that brings unity between our Armed Forces, as well as with national institutions, in a synergistic, inter-force and inter-agency system that ensures the security of our country. The 41st Stormo Antisom of Sigonella represents a real joint operational reality in the field of Italian Defense ...".
The Sigonella air base, already in September 2013 on an ongoing basis and even earlier on an occasional basis, has provided and continues to provide its support to the various foreign assets that have alternated within the Frontex / Triton activities with the aim to coordinate the patrolling of the borders of the Member States and to favor agreements for the management of migrants. Support and hospitality are also provided, generally on a monthly basis, to assets from Greece, Portugal, Iceland, Spain, Sweden, Holland, Great Britain and Denmark, among others.
As part of the European Union Military Naval Operation in the Central and Southern Mediterranean (EunavforMed), the Sigonella Airport represents one of those Air Force bases ready to provide support and host foreign assets. Currently the Spanish structure has been hosted since 13/09/2015 and that of Luxembourg since 18/07/2015. EunavforMed aims to help dismantle the networks of smuggling and human trafficking by adopting systematic measures to identify and stop boats and vehicles used by traffickers. Italy's participation was sanctioned by Law n.117 of 04/08/2015, following the approval of the European Foreign Ministers meeting in Luxembourg on 22/06/2015.
The aircraft Atlantic, which leaves the Air Force flight line after 45 years of service and over 250.000 flight hours, took part in all the recent national maritime surveillance operations in the Mediterranean Sea, such as "Mare Nostrum" and "Safe Sea" thanks to the newspaper work of mixed flight crews composed of members of the Navy and the Air Force.
The P-72A, created by Leonardo, is an all-time maritime patrol vessel, developed by the ATR72-600 for the civilian market and then modified with specific equipment and sensors to fulfill its military tasks and represents an interim solution aimed at covering the capacitive gap up to the moment in which we can equip ourselves with a Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircarft which also has ASW capability (Anti-Submarine Warfare). The new structure has already been put to the test, providing its own contribution on the occasion of the G7 of Taormina in May. Like its predecessor, it is assigned to the Air Force and used by the Navy: on board mixed crews of the two Armed Forces operate in full harmony, strengthened in nearly fifty years of operational activity on the Atlantic. The enhanced ability to discover, the extended autonomy and the aptitude for flight at very low altitude of the new structure make it essential for the patrolling and surveillance of operational theaters and for the security of the national territory, as well as for research missions and aid for the protection of human life at sea. Finally, the net-centric capacity of the P-72A helps to create a persistent surveillance capacity to support the country's security and defense needs.
This specificity represents, since the 1965, an example of inter-force synergy and cooperation so as to receive the 28 March 2007, from the President of the Republic, the silver medal for civil merit as a recognition for the meritorious and incessant work carried out by the department in the period from 1990 at 2005 to protect maritime traffic and search and rescue refugees and castaways in the Mediterranean area.
