The handover ceremony between the personnel of Block 66 and the contingent of Block 67 of the Lithuanian Air Force took place at the Šiauliai Air Base in Lithuania. 36th Wing Air Task Force on a mission for the air defense service of the Baltic States, in the presence, among others, of Air Division General Enrico Degni, head of the operational support department of COVI (joint operational command).
La 36th Wing Air Task Force, equipped with Eurofighter aircraft Typhoon (F-2000) coming from the 36th wing of Gioia del Colle, the 4th wing of Grosseto, the 37th wing of Trapani and the 51st wing of Istrana, provides continuous air support to the mission NATO Air Policing. In the four months under the command of Colonel Michele Nasto, the TFA completed 32 “Alpha Scrambles” intercepting 48 unidentified aircraft. In total, more than 1000 flight hours and 300 sorties were flown and several joint activities were conducted with multinational and NATO contingents deployed in the Baltic area.
Italy will continue to have the leadership of the Baltic Air Policing also for the next four months. The outgoing commander Colonel Michele Nasto has, in fact, handed over to Colonel Roberto Massarotto the “key to the Baltic”, which metaphorically marks the passage of the air defense device of the north-eastern region of NATO.
In the presence of diplomatic, military and civil authorities from Italy, Lithuania and France, the defence policy director of the Lithuanian Defence, Vaidotas Urbelis, stressed that: “The air patrol mission is a demonstration of the cohesion of NATO allies. When we talk about NATO we talk about our commitment to safeguarding the skies, our goal remains the same: a safe airspace”.
The Italian Ambassador in Vilnius, Emanuele De Maigret, wanted to thank the Italian staff for their deep sense of responsibility: “Italy is strongly committed to the security of NATO borders, with a 360-degree approach and a holistic vision of Euro-Atlantic security”.
The outgoing commander of the 36th Wing Air Task Force Michele Nasto, in his speech at the ceremony, wanted to underline that: “I can proudly say that today, after more than 1000 flight hours, 32 A-Scrambles and 48 intercepted aircraft, a unique national deployment of air defense, command and control and intelligence gathering assets, after 120 days always on alert and always ready, this task force, with its men and women, has demonstrated that it deserves your trust and that of our allies. We did it in silence, with passion and dedication, aware that we could not make mistakes but at the same time certain of being able, knowing and wanting to serve Italy and NATO”.
