The "Gioia Falcon" exercise took place from 12 to 26 November 2021, at the 36 ° Caccia flock of Gioia del Colle (BA), which saw the training of some assets of the Air Force jointly with the same assets. belonging to the Royal Netherlands Air Force.
The activity, which also included some pre-planned night sorties, was conducted in full compliance with the procedures currently in force in the field of Air Navigation and Flight Safety. The integration between Italian and Dutch fourth and fifth generation aircraft has made it possible to express the highest level of training in missions with complex scenarios, which also saw the participation of the F-35 aircraft of the 32nd wing with "omnirole" tasks.
The result obtained underlined the importance of a continuous dialogue with the NATO countries increasingly integrated with the fifth generation.
The training offered the opportunity to consolidate interoperability between the crews of aircraft involved in operational activities, or to standardize the procedures and techniques adopted in complex scenarios and missions of various types - including Close Air Support jointly with the Fusiliers of the Air, Joint Tactical Air Controller (JTAC), Defensive Counter Air and Air Interdiction - as well as to test the redeployment capabilities on other NATO bases, aimed at perfecting the synergy between the flight crews and the latest generation aircraft to ensure perfect integration and synchronization of the air component with that of the surface.
