The "NASR 2021" exercise, organized by Command of the Terrestrial Support Operative Forces (Support COMFOTER) and conducted by Artillery Command jointly with the Qatar Emiri Land Forces (QELF).
The purpose of the exercise was to verify the level of preparation achieved by the Artillery Command through the deployment of a Joint Fire Support Element (JFSE) of an army corps deployed outside the national territory.
Divided into a Main command post, activated in Bracciano by the Army Simulation and Validation Center, and in one advanced located in Qatar, the JFSE was found to be suitable for the use of fire in general support provided by the 5th "Superga" rocket launching land artillery regiment and by the 1 and 3 land artillery regiments (mon.) of the Alpine Troops Command (COMALP). The JFSE also coordinated the activities of the 132nd “Ariete” artillery regiment, in direct support of the maneuvering forces.
The sharing of command and control and fire management systems functionally distributed in Bracciano, Qatar and in the Monte Romano Polygon according to the concept of Command post distributed, was guaranteed thanks to the digital satellite connections made by the 2nd Alpine Transmission Regiment.
Four maneuvering companies and an artillery battery of the Qatari land forces also took part in the exercise, carried out in full compliance with the regulations for combating the spread of CoViD-19 provided by the local authorities. logistic. In particular, the operational validation of the new long-range artillery ammunition for 155mm howitzers was carried out. “Vulcano”, organized by the IV logistic department of the Army staff and concluded with a positive outcome. In particular, the ammunition, in the version Guided Long Range, GPS-guided, highlighted the exceptional accuracy on the points determined by a team of special forces of the 185th Target Acquisition Regiment, specialized in the conduct of terminal fire guidance (TGO - Terminal Operation Guidance) who controlled the fire of the MLRS of the 5th Reg. "Superga" and PZH in MSRI (Multiple Rounds Simultaneous Impact) mode.
The validation activity has highlighted the effectiveness of the new ammunition, which can draw targets placed over seventy kilometers away. It was also possible, first, use the fire procedure Multiple rounds simultaneous impact (MRSI) of the PzH2000 weapon system which allows five shots fired from the same piece to arrive at the target at the same time. This mode is the most effective expression of the "shoot and scoot" technique, which allows the weapon system to deliver the massive volume of fire and immediately leave the position to escape the possible counter-fire action of the enemy, even before the shots fired have arrived on the target. Finally, the crews of the Controfuoco Radar were validated Artillery Hunting Radar (ARTHUR) of the 5th "Superga" and the 132nd "Ariete", an indispensable tool for long-range artillery systems to locate and neutralize the opposing artillery, also used to follow the trajectories of the shots fired and verify the points of impact .
Attending the most significant moments of the exercise, the commander and the deputy commander of the Terrestrial Operations e Army Operational Command (COMFOTER COE), general of the army corps Giovanni Fungo and general of the army corps Carlo Lamanna and the commander of the support COMFOTER, general of the army corps Massimo Scala.
The Italian delegation was welcomed, as well as by the military attaché for Italy in Qatar, Colonel Angelo Del Lungo and the commander of the Brigadier General Artillery Fabio Giambartolomei, by the commander of the Qatar Emiri Land Forces, General Saeed Al-Khayarin who he complimented the excellent work done and the professionalism shown by the personnel of the Italian Army in putting into practice and metabolizing the procedures envisaged, underlining the importance of the indissoluble combination of technical preparation and integration of capabilities.
General Fungo, in addition to thanking the host nation for the support and expressing his satisfaction for the commitment, wanted to underline how this exercise has contributed to consolidating the capabilities of the Italian Army in general and of artillery in particular in the scenarios "Warfighting". Satisfaction also expressed by General Scala for what has been done by Artillery Command employed by him who, by integrating and implementing the systems at his disposal, in addition to adhesion support, has also been able to express the so-called "long range precision fire", that is the ability to achieve the desired effects at maximum distances and in the various domains pertaining to operations, in line with the development of concepts related to Multi Domain Operations within NATO, thus completing the complex exercise with results of absolute importance.
