TLP 2018-4
GIOIA DEL COLLE AB (LIBA)
32° STORMO
ITALIA
29Th NOVEMBER 2018
by Gigi Iacomino
Located halfway between the cities of Foggia and Manfredonia, the military airport of Amendola is, by extension, the second in Europe after that of Ramstein (Germany). Founded by 12Nd A.A.F. US in October 1943, in order to make it a base for its P40, P47 and B25, a few months after the airport became home to some of the departments equipped with Boeing B17 F / G heavy bombers of the 5Th Bomb Wing of 15Th A.A.F. engaged in the aerial offensive against Nazi Germany and its allies.On February 1, 1947, the airport, then the most modern and equipped in Italy, with a value of 3 million dollars, was delivered by the USAAF to the Italian Air Force.
In 1949 Amendola, which became the headquarters of the Reaction Aircraft Training Unit, was the first Italian air base to host the new and innovative A.M.I jets. De Havilland DH 100 Vampire, to which the DH 113 night bipost were added three years laterKnown simply by the abbreviation TLP, this is an international military organization that, at present, represents in the NATO field the benchmark in the field of joint aero-tactical training aimed at the development of leadership skills, and to which the aeronautical military currently belong of 10 countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States); an essential activity to face with reasonable success the challenges posed today by the modern operational scenarios to which the Atlantic Alliance aeronautics are called to participate.
Eurofighter Typhoon EF2000 Italy - Air Force
The purpose of the Flying Course, normally organized at the Albacete Spanish air base with a cadence of four annual courses, is to train future mission commanders (Mission Commanders), with the use of a specific training in complex aerial operations that provide interactions between airborne, naval and terrestrial multinational forces. Called 04 – 2018, the session, in which the F35A (13th Group – 32nd Stormo) participated for the first time, constituted a piece of particular importance with a view to the transition to the weapon and technological systems characteristic of the aircraft of 5th Generation, operating in a context characterized by a strong inter-force and international connotations.In December 1951 in Amendola happily took place the first flight of FIAT G.80, the first jet airplane designed and built in Italy after the war, by Ing. Giuseppe Gabrielli. On this airport, which over the years has become the most important Air Force flight school, some of the most important training aircraft have alternated; among these the FIAT G91T-1, on which over 2650 Italian and foreign pilots were patented.
Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Italy - Air Force
On July 1, 1993, the airport became the site of the 32nd Wing “Armando Boetto” which, in the space of a few years, replaced its old G91T-1 with the most recent AM-X Ghibli, one of which became the Gate Guardian.After having worked for almost twenty years with the Ghibli, obtaining excellent results with both his Volo Groups (13th and 101th), and having become one of the technologically advanced departments of the Armed Force, thanks to the UAV aircraft of the 28th Group , December 15, 2016 the 32nd Stormo received its first F35A Lightning II. With this 5th Generation combat aircraft the Stormo, currently commanded by col.pil. Davide Marzinotto, has embarked on a new and very important path that places him at the technological top of the Air Force departments. These important factors have determined the choice, by the bodies in charge, of the airport as a place to host one of the most important exercises in NATO. On 21 November, the flight activity of the 4th Flying Course of 2018 organized by the Tactical Leadership Program of Albacete (Spain) took place on the Amendola air base, continuing until 14 December.
The participation of 4th and 5th Generation aircraft was the peculiarity of this Flying Course, making it an occasion of particular importance aimed not only at encouraging the standardization of elements such as tactics, techniques and procedures, as for verifying and exercising the interoperability between different and sometimes non-homogeneous systems, reusing and exchanging information and services produced by other structures. In this context, an important role is played by the F35A which, thanks to its high capacities that make it an exceptional force multiplier, is an example of how the modern technologies of the 5th Generation aircraft can give greater relevance to other structures. aircraft currently available in the Armed Forces of the Atlantic Alliance.
McDonnell Douglas AV-8B+ Harrier II Italy - Navy
More than 900 soldiers of different nationalities and 50 airplanes took part in the TLP 04 – 2018. On the Amendola airport, next to the F35A and the MQ-1C and MQ-9A remote piloting arrangements of the 32nd Stormo, the Air Force has risked its Eurofighter (9th, 10th and 18th Group); T-346A (61st Wing); Gulfstream G-550 CAEW (14th Wing); the HH-101 helicopters (15th Stormo). On the same base the F16AM (1St, 349Th and 350Th Sq.) Of the Belgian Air Force were also present; the F16AM (313Th and 322Nd Sq.) Dutch; the Eurofighter (31St Sq. and 74Th FW), and the German Tornado ECR (51St Sq.); the FAFCs (493Rd FW) of the USAF; the AV-8B Plus (GRUPAER), of the Navy.
Alongside these assets, on the basis of Puglia there were also the IT-DARS mobile command and control system, the Surface Based Air Defense (SBAD) SIRIUS and the specialized Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC). Other structures participating in the exercise have instead operated from other airports, such as the Tanker KC-767A of the Air Force at Pratica di Mare, the HH-212 at Gioia del Colle, the P72A at Signonella, while at Trapani-Birgi it was NATO E-3A Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWACS).
Alenia Aermacchi M-346A "Master" Italy - Air Force
Other assets such as the American KC-135 Tankers and the German Jamkites, which also took part in the TLP, were instead placed at other airports. As in the forecasts, the TLP 04-2018 has fully achieved the pre-established results demonstrating, in addition to the professionalism of the staff who participated, also the constant growth of the F35A of the 32 ° Stormo, as stated during the meeting with the press of 30 November from the gen. Red, Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force: “with the achievement of the Initial Operational Capability of our F-35 we are able to express – first in Europe – a real operational capacity with a fifth generation machine, which means the capacity of a system made up of more than one aircraft, of crews trained to use them, of sustainable maintenance and logistic support over time “.
Fighterplaneworld, would like to thank for the opportunity the 5th Department of the Air Force in the person of Col.Federico Merola, the commander of the 32 ° Stormo Col. Marzinotto, the commander of the 13th Wing and the whole team of the Office Public Information of the General Staff Aeronautics.
A sincere thank you to the Lgt. Michele Potenza for the wonderful hospitality and availability
GALLERY
