On 7 March, F-16 fighters of the Heyl Ha'Avir, the Israeli Air Force, scrambled from Ramat David airbase to intercept Syrian aircraft approaching the Golan Heights, engaged in ground interdiction actions against the anti-government forces.
The raiders have promptly desisted from their mission just alerted of the approach of the F-16.
The scramble is a process that involves a series of steps that are subject to continuous training, to optimize time and resources.
Like all technically advanced aeronautics, our air force has the "mission" to ensure 24 hours on 24 and for all the days of the year the control and defense of the airspace.
To accomplish this task well, aircraft designed for high operational readiness are required. For this particular mission, the F-104 were exceptional, which could take off on alert within five minutes from the moment the emergency was declared, the purpose was to intercept and, if necessary, neutralize the threat.
In aeronautical jargon it is called "scramble": the alarm cell was made up of two aircraft, called alert two, two pilots, 4 specialist technicians, two armsmen and a driver. The operation was coordinated by the Sector Operation Center which received the data from the defense radar systems, analyzed the traces and in the case of an unidentified aircraft, ordered the take-off center and the immediate take-off and finally the Combat Operation Center, of the air base in question, called the pilots in the alarm round.
At the sound of the siren, everything took place quickly and precisely: the pilots rushed towards the shelters, always located near the Palazzina Allarme where the military personnel were staying, they boarded fighters already supplied and armed, they wore a helmet, they made sure to the ejection seat and checked that the specialists had already given air to the ground supply unit.
Immediately after checking the radio on the UHF frequency, they contacted the control tower and obtained permission to exit the shelters, leading the interceptor aircraft to the waiting point. During the taxiing they performed all the pre-flight checks.
On the runway the armorers removed the armor guards, while in the cockpit the pilot collected the initial information related to the scramble, always provided by the tower.
The other data were communicated to the crews after take-off by the controller Guida Caccia Intercettori, the one who directed them to the target.
Currently much has remained similar, but the reaction times have expanded to 15 minutes and the chain of command is coordinated by the Poggio Renatico Air Operations Command, the fighters once taken off are guided towards the target by the interception controllers on the ground at the sites Radar of the Reporting and Control Groups, also at Poggio Renatico, from the 21 ° Radar Group of Poggio Ballone and from the 22 ° of Licola.
The command and control functions of the air defense interceptors, within NATO, are devolved to the CAOC of Torrejon in Spain. The airports in operational readiness are those of Grosseto and Gioia del Colle, which has recently been joined by Trapani.
The "ready in five" was lost due to the high costs and operational capabilities of the new aircraft, no longer designed exclusively for air combat or ground attack. The technology has allowed the designers not to limit the function of a single aircraft to interception or bombardment, but have fused in the "multi-role" fighter all the operational needs that can be requested by a jet aircraft.
After the fall of the Soviet bloc, the Air Force has begun to revise not only the main functions of an aircraft, but also the strategy for the air defense of our nation and therefore has shifted its attention mainly towards the chessboard of Mediterranean Africa and of the Near East, nor is there evidence of the geographical choice of air bases located in the south-east of the peninsula and the reduction of the airports involved in operational readiness.
Giovanni Caprara
(Photo: IAF / archive)
