For three weeks in May, the Italian armed forces came together to test Italy’s response to potential national crises.
US Marine Corps MV-22Bs of VMM-261 took part in ‘Joint Stars’ — the unit is currently deployed to Morón Air Base, Spain, as part of the Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response-Africa.
The Italian F-35s have made a significant impact on the information collection capability of the Italian Air Force.
OVER THE LAST few years, ‘Joint Stars’ exercises have been a fundamental tool to assess the response capability — in full compliance with NATO training criteria — of our armed forces in the face of new crisis scenarios,’ said Italian defense minister Elisabetta Trenta on the final day of the latest exercise. This is Italy’s premier self-defense exercise, managed by the defense general staffthrough its operational arm, the Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze (COI). It included elements from the US Marine Corps through to the Carabinieri Corps — the country’s Gendarmerie.
