In addition to the Air Policing duties, the F-35 aircraft are also scheduled to take part in exercises.
Two Italian Air Force F-35A aircraft of the 32ยฐand 6ยฐ Stormo (Wing), soon to be followed by two more aircraft, arrived at Malbork Air Base in Poland on September 13, 2023. The Lightning IIs will patrol the skies over the European eastern flank as part of the NATO deterrence and defence mission.
โThe deployment of modern 5th generation fighter aircraft to Poland โ just half a year after the end of a similar deployment by Royal Netherlands Air Force F-35 โ demonstrates NATOโs ability to forward position advanced fighter capabilities in a flexible manner,โ said Major General Gianluca Ercolani, Chief of Staff at Allied Air Command. โIt is another proof of the fact that Allies are operating integrated by design under efficient air command and control arrangements to execute meaningful deterrence and defence along the eastern flankโ.
Italy, which was the firstย to deploy F-35s to a NATO mission in 2019, has been regularly deploying the fighters for Air Policing missions, trailblazing the integration of modern 5th generation aircraft into Alliance air operations alongside the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Wลoskie ๐ฎ๐น#F35 w Polsce๐ต๐ฑ. Wspรณlnie wzmacniamy zdolnoลci #NATO do odstraszania i obrony. #bezpieczenstwo #WschodniaFlankaNATO
– – – #StrongerTogether #deterrence #defence #NATO https://t.co/GtJInouP0s pic.twitter.com/P0Wnh36pAX
โ Ministerstwo Obrony Narodowej ๐ต๐ฑ (@MON_GOV_PL) September 14, 2023
โBy providing our 5th generation fighter aircraft to NATO, we underscore that Italy is fully committed to supporting the Allianceโs collective enduring missionsโ, said Lieutenant Colonel Ciro Maschione, Commander of the Italian F-35 Detachment โTask Force Air โ 32ยฐ Wingโ. โSince 2019, the Italian Air Force has seamlessly deployed their F-35s to NATO Air Policing and Air Shielding missions in Iceland and Estonia โ as a matter of fact our Eurofighters are leading the 63rd rotation of NATO โs Baltic Air Policing in Lithuania in parallel to this F-35 deploymentโ.
The Italian Air Force F-35s will conduct familiarization flights and will establish a full operational capability in the coming days after the deployment of the others two F-35s, said the press release. Besides joining Polish and other regional fighters in flying NATO Air Policing missions, they are also scheduled to contribute to flexible training missions the Alliance conducts under its enhanced Vigilance Activities.
