In the air base of Šiauliai, in Lithuania, the Task Force Air 4th Wing Baltic Horse III, made up of personnel of the Italian Air Force, achieved Full Operational Capability, thus officially starting the mandate for the surveillance mission of the Euro-Atlantic spaces in the Baltic country.
On Wednesday 2 August, in the presence of the head of the operations department of the joint operational command, general of the air squadron Achille Cazzaniga, of the commander of the NATO combined air operation center of Uedem (Germany), major general Harold van Peed and of the local authorities, the commander of Task Force Air - Lithuania 4th Wing, Colonel Federico Sacco Maino has officially received the "key to the Baltics" from the Portuguese and Romanian allies.
Italy is therefore, at the moment, the only nation operating in Lithuania for this specific operational mission.
During his speech, General Cazzaniga underlined the importance of the involvement of Italy and all the countries of the Atlantic Alliance for “preserve the integrity of NATO's airspace, demonstrate our determination to protect the living space and values of our nations from all forms of aggression and be a deterrent force against any threat to the stability and security of Europe”.
Colonel Sacco Maino, addressing "his team", expressed his will to "acting with one mind and body, with common objectives and clear roles for the defense of NATO's borders in a geopolitical context that has clearly changed compared to that of 2021, the last time Italy was called to operate in Lithuania".
The operations conducted by the Italian Armed Forces on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance are ordered by the Chief of the Defense Staff and are under the coordination and direction of the Joint Operational Command.
THEAir Policing it is a collective defense mission, the latter a cornerstone concept of the NATO Treaty, conducted continuously in peacetime, 365 days a year, with the aim of ensuring the integrity and security of the airspace of all the countries of the Alliance.
Each nation ensures the defense of the airspace of its competence with its own assets. Where, however, the country of the Alliance does not have the aforementioned Air Defense capabilities on its own, it can resort to the help of other NATO nations. In this context, Italy participates in the operations connected with theAir Policing guaranteeing its structures in support of some states such as: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Albania, Iceland, Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Poland.
