It was held from 7 to 14 July Neptune Strike 23-2, the air-naval exercise organized and conducted by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO), to conduct international and joint operational activities of enhanced vigilance (advanced maritime surveillance). Some naval units and air assets of the Navy and two aircraft took part in the exercise Euro Fighter of the Italian Air Force.
The two fighters, which were used in some complex training missions planned on the final day of the exercise, belong to Task Force Air-R Gladiator, stationed at the Romanian Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base in Constanta (Romania), as part of the currently ongoing NATO mission of Enhanced Air Policing Southern Area (eAPAS). Specifically, the Air Force participated in a COMAO mission, COMposite Air Operation, and a CAS mission, Close Air Support, together with Romanian J-TAC (Joint Terminal Attack Controller) personnel. These training events, conducted in highly realistic, dynamic and versatile scenarios, make it possible to consolidate the integration and interoperability between different weapon systems and to standardize operational tactics and training methods common to NATO countries.
The operational and training activity of the Neptune Strike 23-2 fits into the broader scenario of Multi Carrier Operations (MCO) which expresses a power multiplier in the capacity of deterrence and projection of military forces of the Atlantic Alliance and active support in multilateral contexts for security in the enlarged Mediterranean area.
THEAir Policing (AP) is a capability that NATO has equipped itself with and consists of the integration of the national air defense systems of the member countries into a single air defense system. The activities of Air Policing are mainly carried out by aircraft Euro Fighter and F-35 which ensure a timely response in case of threats to the airspace. This capability has been conducted since peacetime and consists of the continuous surveillance and identification of all violations to the integrity of NATO airspace that are faced by taking the appropriate actions useful to counter them.
In addition to the missions of Interim Air Policing in Slovenia, Albania and Montenegro, of Baltic Air Policing, And Air Policing in support of Iceland, the Air Force also participates in missions of Enhanced Air Policing for those NATO countries (for example Bulgaria and Romania) that already have their own air defense system, but are not fully autonomous, thus reducing costs and maximizing efficiency.
Specifically, the TFA "Gladiator" sees deployed - from mid-November 2022 to the end of July 2023 - at the Mihail Kogălniceanu airport in Constanta, over two hundred pilots, technical and logistic personnel. Under the coordination of operational command of interforce forces (COVI) and through the use of four EF-2000 aircraft Typhoon of the 4th, 36th, 37th and 51st Wings, the Air Force contributes to Alliance border control, as well as operations that include the Combat Air Patrol (CAP) and training with allied land and naval units. In the approximately seven months of activity, these assets have accounted for over 330 flight hours between real operations and exercises, with the aircraft ready 24/7 for immediate take-off on alarm (in technical jargon "scramble").
