The "Bulgarian Horse" mission, carried out today, at the Graf Ignatievo air base in Bulgaria, home of the Italian (Task Force Air) TFA, ended today with the ceremony of lowering the flag and the take-off towards Italy as part of NATO's "enhanced Air Policing" operation over the skies of Bulgaria.
From the 1 ° July 2017, four Eurofighter Typhoon of the Military Air Force with its pilots, technicians and specialists (all about 110 Military 4 ° Flock of Grosseto, 36 ° Flock of Gioia del Colle and 37 ° flock of Trapani, with the contribution of other Forces of Armed Forces and Interforce) have integrated the defense of the airspace of the Bulgarian Republic and, therefore, of NATO. In addition, Italian Air Defense Controllers have been detained at the Sofia Bulgarian Refugee Monitoring and Control Center (CRC) in order to provide, assist and supervise Bulgarian colleagues.
In four months, Task Force Air carried out a total of about 550 flight hours, with over 85 Scramble simulated for operational readiness training, and many training missions for the maintenance of the full operation of the TFA and the operators of the Sofia CRC. Many of these missions were carried out jointly with Bulgarian pilots in order to standardize the procedures of the two NATO countries and improve the flexibility of the Alliance's assets by increasing the capabilities of the crews.
Yesterday 31 October the closing ceremony was attended by Air Force General Fernando Giancotti, Air Force Commander Air Force General Silvano Frigerio, commander of the Military Air Force Fighting Force. Bulgaria was represented by the commander of the base of Graf Ignatievo, Brigadier General Ivan Lalov. In his speech, General Giancotti, in addition to thanking the Commander of the TFA, Colonel Moris Ghiadoni and the men and women of Task Force Air, for the work done, he underlined as "when we were young pilots, we separated the Cortina. Our being here together now ignites the awareness that we have become part of the story. Our being here together is a great sign of the path to peace. But peace is not something given, it must not be given for certain it must be pursued day by day". Colonel Ghiadoni, commander of the 4th Wing Task Force, thanked all the staff, highlighting how the results of the "Bulgarian Horse" operation are "the demonstration of the great professionalism and the result of continuous and constant training, both at home and abroad"He also emphasized the strong link and great friendship between Italian and Bulgarian staff. "This kind of synergy"Added the commander Ghiadoni"it is the factor that has allowed the results to be achieved by both nations".
The TFA 4 ° flock in Bulgaria also interacted a lot with the local community, with frequent and repeated relations with national and local authorities, receiving visits from authorities, delegations and school groups, which helped to create and strengthen that relationship of mutual trust and esteem, characteristic of "comprehensive approach"Italian in Military Operations Outside National Borders (OFCN).
