Poland, Air Task Force 4th Wing closes: 700 flight hours and 26 take-offs for the Italian Air Force's Eurofighters

After more than four months of intense activity, almost 700 hours of Eurofighter flying time and 26 'scrambles' carried out, Task Force Air 4th Wing 'White Eagle II' ended its mandate. Sealing the conclusion of the NATO Enhanced Air Policing mission in Poland was a ceremony that took place on Tuesday 30 July at the Krolewo military airport in Malbork. The lowering of the flag and subsequent departure of the last of the four Eurofighter aircraft that made up the TFA fleet marked the end of the mission.

The mission involving Air Force personnel defending the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance was carried out in a geopolitical context that is currently extremely complex and delicate. Malbork is in fact close to Kaliningrad and the border with Belarus. Since mid-February, Eurofighters have replaced the F-35s of the TFA 32nd Wing. The air fleet was then supplemented, starting from mid-May, with the E- 550 A CAEW of the 14th Wing at Pratica di Mare, which for the first time deployed in Poland, allowing Italy - the only NATO country to have this aircraft on the line - to make a contribution to the security of air operations and to play a strategic role within the Atlantic Alliance for the defence of air space.

The Task Force Air "4th Wing" deployed four Eurofighter (F-2000) aircraft from four Air Defence Wing of the Italian Air Force: 4th Stormo at Grosseto, 36th Stormo at Gioia del Colle, 37th Stormo at Trapani and 51st Stormo at Istrana. Thanks to these aircraft, it is possible to guarantee the take-off and interception of any suspicious track detected by radar in just a few minutes, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

The Italian contingent, placed under the direct national dependencies of the COVI (Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze), was composed of Air Force men and women from the Flight Groups and technical and logistical personnel, deployed at the Krolewo airport in Malbork, who operated alongside the Polish Air Force to protect the north-eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. This is the second time an Italian contingent has been deployed in Poland in enhanced Air Policing (eAP) operations.

Enhanced Air Policing is a NATO-led collective defence mission that has been conducted since peacetime, without interruption 365 days a year and that, specifically for the TFA-P 'White Eagle' led by the 4th Wing, aims to ensure the integrity and security of Polish airspace, thus contributing to the strengthening of the deterrence posture on the north-eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance. Air Policing missions are conducted under the command and control of one of the two Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOC), located respectively in Uedem (Germany) for the northern area and Torrejon (Spain) for the southern area, under the supervision of the Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) in Ramstein (Germany). The TFA - P in particular operates under the command and control of the CAOC in Uedem (Germany).