Afghanistan: JTAC in training

(To TAAC-West)
06/06/20

The Train Advise Assist Command West (TAAC-W) of Herat, currently based on the 132nd armored brigade "Ariete" under the command of Brigadier General Enrico Barduani, has conducted in recent days, in collaboration with US fixed-wing aircraft assets, an intense training activity in favor of its own JTACs (Joint Terminal Attack Controllers), that is the military operators who, from the ground, direct and direct the action of the combat aircraft engaged in close air support to the objectives.

Taking advantage of the movements at height (at twenty thousand feet) of two F-35 aircraft, the Italian JTACs carried out a series of practical fire support management exercises, testing the NATO aircooperation procedures and verifying the correct functioning and interoperability of the communication systems.

Particularly profitable, in training terms, was the rendering of the exploration and observation skills of the intervention area, of the acquisition and exploitation of the targets to be struck and of familiarization with the optoelectronic instruments, functions that must be constantly maintained at the highest levels for to be able to satisfy the multiple operational needs in the theater.

The training of JTACs, whose qualification requires the attendance of a specialized training process, is an integral part of the program of operational activities aimed at maintaining the Force Protection capabilities.