In recent days, at the Ali Al Salem air base, home of the Italian National Contingent Command Air/Task Force Air Kuwait, which places its operational assets at the service of the multinational mission Inherent Resolve, the entire engine-propeller block of a C-27J aircraft was replaced following a serious failure.
This activity, usually carried out at home due to the lack of suitable resources in the Operational Theatre, was necessary in order to reduce processing times to a minimum, so as to be able to promptly make the asset available to the coalition.
The inconvenience, considering the limited resources available on site, could have constituted a significant operational criticality, which was however avoided thanks to the synergic work of the joint operational command (COVI), the aerospace operations command (COA) and the 46a Pisa Air Brigade.
Once the required procedures were activated immediately, the episode was an important demonstration of the projection capabilities of the national logistics chain, which allowed the entire engine block and some spare parts not available locally to be made available in a very short time from Italy.
The complex operations were coordinated by the commander of the IT NCC AIR /TFA-K, Colonel Matteo Zuliani, who was able to appreciate the reactivity of the assets arriving from Italy, in a strategically relevant context such as the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.
The efficient national support capacity was also possible thanks to the training of maintenance personnel, capable of operating in every corner of the world, exactly as if they were in Italy.
It is also worth highlighting the valuable contribution of the US Air Force components present at the Al Salem airport, which promptly made a suitable hangar available, demonstrating the effective cooperation and interoperability between allied operational units.
The works, the result of effective teamwork, were carried out by the maintenance team of the task group Albatros which has demonstrated the highest level of professionalism and how the Defence and the Air Force are able to guarantee, even in environments far from the Mother Country, direct logistical support to the forces in operation.
The task group Albatros, currently operating from the Erbil base (Iraq), is part of the Italian National Contingent Command Air - Task Force Air Kuwait (IT NCC AIR/TFA-K), since July 2016, and is among the assets that the Air Force makes available to the international anti-ISIS coalition. TheAlbatros It operates on an EC-27J aircraft, capable of carrying out surveillance, protection and support missions. In 2024 it exceeded the milestone of 10000 flight hours in the theatre.
The Italian National Contingent Command Air/Task Force Air Kuwait, was established on 17 October 2014 and placed under the control – for national aspects – of the joint operational command. It participates in the operation Prima Parthica/Ineherent Resolve within the international anti-ISIS coalition, ensuring unity of command for the synergic and coordinated use of the assets supplied, deployed in Kuwait and Iraq and engaged in ISR, AAR, Airlift, EW, Medevac, PED activities and logistical and administrative support.
