On March 7, an exercise took place on the border between the Italian and Swiss skies Air Policing called "Ferrari India" which involved assets of the 51st wing of Istrana (TV), 14th wing of Pratica di Mare (RM) and controllers of the 11th group Integrated Missile Air Defense (DAMI), under the guidance of NASOC (National Air Space Operation Center) both located in the headquarters of aerospace operations command (COA) of Poggio Renatico (FE). In a mirror-like manner, the Swiss Air Force participated with its assets in Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) and its units Command and Control (C2) national.
Le Air Policing Exercise they are exercises conducted with the aim of training the C2 chain in the application of bilateral procedures in the event of a non-military air threat and to verify the validity and effectiveness of current procedures. They generally involve Italian C2 units such as NASOC, and the DAMI Groups, in addition to Coordination and Control Services of the Air Force (SCCAM), assets of the 4th, 14th and 51st wings, and foreign C2 units and QRA assets. During the year, the exercises between Italy and Switzerland take place regularly in two editions: the "Ferrari India", i.e. those in which the target enters Swiss airspace from Italian airspace, and the "Ferrari Sierra", in which the target from the Swiss country it penetrates the national airspace.
The scenario, in the latest edition, saw a target aircraft take off from Pratica di Mare which simulated a civil aircraft, on which the presence of terrorists on board had been reported, which would have affected Swiss airspace. The task of the NASOC of Poggio Renatico (FE) was to quickly assess the threat and order immediate take-off ("scramble") to intercept the aircraft. Of fundamental importance was the short time to obtain the necessary information to share with the transalpine counterpart and coordinate the crossing of the border by the Italian interceptors (Cross Border Operations).
Once the tactical action to be taken by NASOC has been communicated to the Control Agency, the controllers of the 11th DAMI Group transmitted the order to the Eurofighters in readiness of the 51st wing who took off in a few minutes. After radio contact with the pilots, the DAMI controllers updated the in-flight assets on the ongoing tactical situation, communicated the Air Defense procedures to be carried out and provided the necessary orders until the mission was completed.
In an asymmetric scenario, such as the one covered by the "Ferrari" exercises, the role of the C2 chain takes on an even more crucial role since the ongoing situation can become unpredictable. Only continuous training, combined with consolidated operational procedures, can allow very short reaction times to safely and consciously deal with anomalous situations or those that may threaten the integrity of the national airspace. The "Ferrari" exercises allow the training level of the personnel to be kept high, stimulating a fruitful comparison with the Swiss counterpart, allowing the training of the components of the C2 chain involved (NASOC and DAMI Groups) and of the flight groups involved.
