After over 4 months of intense activity, almost 700 hours of flight time Euro Fighter and 26 “scrambles” carried out, the task force air 4th wing “White Eagle II” ends its mandate.
To seal the conclusion of the NATO mission enhanced Air Policing in Poland, a ceremony that took place yesterday morning at the Krolewo military airport in Malbork, in the presence of the commander of the aerospace operations command (COA) of Poggio Renatico (FE), air team general Claudio Gabellini and the chief of staff of the Polish Air Force, Major General Ireneusk Nowak.
The lowering of the flag and the subsequent departure of the last of the 4 aircraft Euro Fighter which formed the TFA fleet, marked the end of the mission successfully completed and which saw the Air Force personnel operate continuously to defend the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance in a geopolitical context currently extremely complex and delicate. The very proximity of Malbork to Kaliningrad and the border with Belarus allows us to understand the importance of the presence of the Italian military in this country. Since mid-February the Euro Fighter they replaced the TFA F-35s 32nd wing. The air fleet was then integrated, starting from mid-May, with the E-550 A CAEW of the 14th wing of Pratica di Mare, which for the first time deployed in Poland allowing Italy - the only NATO country to have in line with this aircraft - to provide a fundamental contribution to the safety of air operations and to play a strategic role within the Atlantic Alliance for the defense of airspace.
The commander of the task force air 4th wing, Colonel Gianluigi Colucci, in his speech wanted to express all his pride and satisfaction for the work of the TFA staff and for the results achieved. His words were joined by those of General Nowak who thanked the Italian military for having supported the Polish Air Force in the defense of the airspace and in the protection of the territorial integrity of the country, underlining how the work carried out in the last year has made it clear the meaning and importance of the Alliance and the NATO motto “Together we are stronger”. The last speech to close the ceremony was that of General Gabellini who highlighted the exceptional skills and professionalism of the Arma Azzurra personnel who manage to simultaneously guarantee the Italian and NATO air defense by participating in the NATO missions of Air Policing in Albania, Montenegro and Slovenia and most recently in Poland. The general then recalled that from this week the Italian commitment which ends in Poland will continue with the TFA 36th wing in Lithuania.
The Air Task Force “4th Wing” employed four aircraft Euro Fighter (F-2000) from four air defense wings of the Italian Air Force: 4th wing of Grosseto, 36th wing of Gioia del Colle, 37th wing of Trapani and 51st wing of Istrana. Thanks to these aircraft it is possible to guarantee take-off and interception of any suspicious trace detected by radar in a few minutes, 24 hours a day, 24 days a year.
The Italian contingent, placed under the direct national dependence of the COVI (interforce top operational command), was made up of women and men of the Air Force from the flight groups and technical and logistical personnel, deployed at the Krolewo airport in Malbork , who operated alongside the Polish Air Force to protect the north-eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. This is the second time that an Italian contingent has been used in Poland in operations enhanced Air Policing (eAP).
THEenhanced Air Policing (AP) is a collective defense mission led by NATO and which has been conducted since peacetime, without interruption 365 days a year and which, specifically for the TFA-P "White Eagle" led by the 4th wing, aims to ensure the integrity and security of Poland's airspace, thus contributing to the strengthening of the deterrence posture on NATO's north-eastern flank.
The missions of Air Policing are conducted under the command and control of one of the two combined air operations centers (CAOC), located respectively in Uedem (Germany) for the northern area and Torrejon (Spain) for the southern area, under the supervision of the Allied air command (AIRCOM) of Ramstein (Germany). The TFA – P in particular operates under the command and control of the CAOC of Uedem (Germany).
The activity of Air Policing has been conducted since peacetime and consists of the continuous surveillance of the integrity of NATO airspace as well as the identification of any violations of its integrity, in the face of which appropriate counteractions must be taken, such as, for example, rapid take-off of fighter-interceptor aircraft, which in technical terms is defined as "scramble".
