The Task Force Air 32nd Wing Nothern Lightning II, after an initial period of familiarization with the new and particular operational context, has reached the full operational capability (FOC), obtaining from the NATO assessors the necessary certification to guarantee the safety of skies to Iceland as part of the operations of Air Policing, in accordance with the expected operating standards.
A team of evaluators from the Combined Air Operations Center (CAOC) of Uedem (Germany) tested the readiness of the Italian F-35s and the organization of the personnel deployed in Keflavik in conducting air interceptions according to NATO operational standards. The attainment of the certification officially launches the "Northern Lightning II" Air Policing operation, after the first mission carried out in the autumn of 2019.
Operations of Air Policing of NATO are fundamental for the protection of Allied airspace and today we renew our commitment in Iceland to contribute to collective defense and to protect the integrity of the skies in this geographical area - said Colonel Michele Cesario, commander of the Task Force Air - TFA has achieved NATO certification after a complex preparation period due to the current health situation. It is only thanks to the efficient teamwork of the entire Defense sector and the high professionalism of its personnel at risk that the Contingent can, from today, carry out its mission.
The result is also the tangible sign of an international cooperation system that involved the entire TFA, the staff of the Icelandic Coast Guard and the CAOC team, integrating different skills and technologies ".
The achievement of the FOC was an opportunity to share the contents of the message sent by the Commander of the Operational Command of Vertice Interforze (COI), general of the army corps Luciano Portolano: "I wish you all my great gratitude for the daily work you do in the service of the institutions, extending the proximity of all the staff of the Armed Forces - General Portolano says - in a period made even more difficult and uncertain by the spread of the health emergency all over the world, you are the protagonists of an exceptional effort by the country in an area of central importance for NATO and with an ever greater importance for transatlantic security. Italy participates in this activity for the second time with our F-35s, aircraft that meet the highest operational and capacitive standards with which NATO's military instruments and its allies can be equipped. "
“Today, with the achievement of Full Operational Capability by the Air 32nd Wing II Task Force - the words of the air squad general Alberto Rosso Chief of Staff of the Air Force - we renew our commitment to actively contribute to collective defense. We have decided to guarantee Air Policing activities with our most advanced resources. In the coming weeks, the Air Force's F-35A, under the command and control of the Allied Air Command, will guarantee the safety of Icelandic airspace and NATO, in an important strategic portion of the Euro-Atlantic region, after the mission carried out in 2019. A further demonstration of efficiency and operability that arrives in a particular period and which constitutes a signal of reliability and quality of the personnel, structures and training and operational procedures of the Air Force. "
