AGI – The two Russian planes, of the IL 20 model, were flying over international airspace on the border with the area under NATO control, intercepted in two separate episodes by Italian fighters over the Baltic Sea. We learn this from defense sources. The warning system that led to the ‘scramble’ was triggered due to the lack of contact between the aircraft and the air traffic management control towers.
Twice in 24 hours the Italian fighters on duty at the Polish base of Malbork had intercepted two Russian spy aircraft which, according to the sources, had no ‘hostile intentions’. The NATO Air Operations Command and Control Center (CAOC) based in Uedem (Germany) had raised the alarm to intercept an unidentified aircraft on the mornings of March 28th and today, March 29th. The aircraft of the Italian Air Force belonging to the TFA – which operates within the NATO Enhanced Air Policing mission – proceeded to intercept and identify the aircraft, before returning to the Malbork base.
The Italian pilots stationed in Poland
The Air Task Force “4th Wing” based in Malbork employs four Eurofighter aircraft (F-2000) from four air defense wings of the Italian Air Force: 4 Wing of Grosseto, 36 Wing of Gioia del Colle, 37 Wing of Trapani and 51 Stormo d’Istrana. Thanks to these aircraft it is possible to guarantee take-off and interception of any suspicious trace detected by radar in a few minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The Italian contingent, placed under the direct national dependency of Covi (Interforce Operational Command), is made up of women and men of the Air Force from the flight groups and technical and logistical personnel, deployed at the Krolewo airport in Malbork , which operate alongside the Polish Air Force to protect the north-eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. This is the second time that an Italian contingent has been used in Poland in enhanced Air Policing operations.
