Giovanni Colla, Remo Guidi and Daniele Faccioli spent time with Italian Air Force Eurofighters as they took up the mission of safeguarding NATO's skies over the Baltic region
It is 0800hrs (local time) at Malbork Air Base in Poland on September 23. In the hangar that houses the Aeronautica Militare (AM; Italian Air Force) the contingent is at full capacity and the alert pilots are monitoring the radio communications.
The intelligence section – in constant contact with Command Air Operations Centre (CAOC) in Uedem, Germany, the command and control network combining radar and other facilities spread throughout the NATO’s air defence forces - informs of a possible ‘bogey’ (unidentified aircraft). Its close to NATO airspace and scales the readiness to 10 minutes in anticipation of a scramble call.
Soon the siren soun
