53 flight hours. Eight helicopters. Two aircraft. Ten between administrations and state bodies participating. These are the numbers with which the international exercise on air rescue organized by the Air Force "Grifone 2015" closes.
Air Force, Italian Army, Guardia di Finanza, State Forestry Corps, National Fire Brigade Corps, National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps, State Police, Regional Civil Protection, Auxiliary Corps of Voluntary Nurses of the Italian Red Cross, Coordination Center SUEM 118, Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Civil Protection Volunteer Associations from 21 to 25 September trained together on the Sila Mountains in Calabria, comparing and learning to work as a single team to work together successfully in emergencies.
The main purpose of the exercise was for the Air Force to train itself in the planning, direction, conduct and support, from an isolated area of "complex and sustained" operations, search and rescue of survivors of air accidents on land operating together with the personnel of Italian and foreign air rescue departments, coordination centers and ground teams for search and rescue, both day and night, promoting mutual knowledge and the development of common procedures.
People, professionalism, stories of those who save lives. Daily heroes protagonists of numerous news events. From the flood in the Piacenza area to rescue the ferry Norman Atlantic passing through all the people who have been found thanks to molecular dogs.
“The passion, competence and professionalism of all the staff employed allowed us to work together as one team. The only objective is to work for the protection of human life. ”These are the words of the exercise director Griffon 2015 Colonel Alfonso Cipriano on the occasion of the meeting with the press.
The 2015 edition of the exercise was also attended by some teams of the 16th air rifle wing of the Air Force for the search on the ground and the safety of the area affected by the emergency with the help of special equipment and technological devices. The significant contribution made by the Fusiliers in the search for missing persons has highlighted the possibility of providing them with the task of search and rescue by training them to operate in similar contexts in synergy with the other bodies involved to guarantee the best results.
The involvement of a team of the Air Inspectorate for the safety of the Air Force was also envisaged, deputed to carry out field investigations, in the event of a military aircraft accident, in order to identify the causes that led to the event. purpose of avoiding and preventing the recurrence of similar situations.
All projects Griffon 2015 also the "Predator", the remotely piloted aircraft of the 32nd wing of the Italian Air Force which can be used to carry out research missions, both point and air, thanks to the use of advanced electro-detection systems -optical and infrared, day and night, radar for the identification of surface targets. One of its most important characteristics is persistence, i.e. the ability to remain in flight for a long time. The Predator proved to be quite versatile and was also used in non-military activities in support of other components of the state. It has, for example, been used on the occasion of some major events such as the Russia-Italy intergovernmental summit held in Bari in March 2007 or the 8 G2009 in L'Aquila.
