Russian planes towards the skies of Poland, intercepted by Italian fighters
For the first time, the Italian F-35s deployed in Poland received an immediate take-off order. It happened on the afternoon of Thursday 21 September, when two F35As of the 32nd Wing air task force took off from Malbork air base to intercept two unidentified aircraft, then escorted out of NATO airspace.
The “scramble” was ordered by the Uedem air operations center in Germany, the NATO control body which has the task of checking and monitoring all radar tracks for suspicious aircraft approaching or attempting to enter space. NATO plane without the necessary authorizations. In the case last Thursday, it appears that they were two Russian Su-30 Flanker fighter planes.
The Air Task Force – 32nd Wing reached full operational capacity last 18 September, after the inaugural ceremony in which the Italian military and the Air Force Chief of Staff himself, Luca Goretti, also took part. On that occasion, the Italian ambassador Luca Franchetti Pardo had highlighted “the effectiveness of air policing operations”.
