Italy concludes major Combat Search and Rescue exercise
Exercise Personnel Recovery Week 25–01 tested the operational readiness and decision-making capacity of the crews while planning and executing the recovery of missing persons in hostile situations.
The exercise consisted of two weeks of complex operations, taking the form of a series increasingly realistic and challenging scenarios. The exercise required meticulous planning, co-ordination and analysis, with a gradual progression of difficulty to test the technical skills, decision making and operational preparation and readiness of the participants. The exercise also tested the interoperability between different assets and evaluated the effectiveness of the techniques, tactics and procedures (TTPs) adopted.
The diverse exercise scenarios ranged from the simulated ejection of a military pilot to the extraction of a special forces team, to the recovery of civilians missing in a hostile situation.
During the exercise, recovery operations were undertaken in the face of simulated ground and air threats, with Blue Forces responsible for ensuring the recovery of isolated personnel (ISOPs).
The exercise included the use of so-called Red Forces (opposition units) including simulated anti-aircraft defences.
The exercise primarily benefited the HH-101A helicopter crews of the 9° Stormo at Grazzanise, and the Wing’s attached STOS (Tactical Support for Special Operations) operators. The HH-101A (AW101 Merlin) is tasked with Special Operations as well as search and recovery of high-value personnel in hostile territory, providing air support to ground forces and emergency medical evacuation missions.
The 9° Stormo is also home to the SERE centre, which provides advanced training in survival, evasion, resistance and exfiltration to all Air Force personnel deployed abroad. The 9° Stormo operates with the 1st Special Operations Air Brigade.
Colonel Salvatore Florio, the Commander of the 9° Stormo explained that: “inter-agency training allows us to consolidate basic skills and develop greater operational synergy with allied nations, an essential element for dealing with increasingly complex and dynamic scenarios.”
Romanian SA 330 Puma helicopters were also used on the exercise, providing a useful opportunity for enhancing co-operation between NATO nations, improving operational integration and increasing the level of co-ordination between different platforms.
The rescue helicopters operated in close co-operation with Leonardo P-72A ISR/MPA aircraft from the 41° Stormo, normally based at Sigonella in Sicily, and with the G-550–CAEW aircraft of the 14° Stormo at Pratica di Mare.
The exercise was also supported by Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon fighters drawn from the 36° Stormo at Gioia del Colle and the 37° Stormo at Trapani. The Typhoons were used as escorts to the helicopters during the recovery phases but also for the location of isolated personnel. The integration of fixed and rotary wing assets required a high level of co-ordination to ensure the protection of the low-flying helicopters, while ensuring the maintenance of Situational Awareness and the mitigation of threats.
Colonel Antonino Massara, the Commander of the 36° Stormo said that: “Personnel Recovery Week 25-01 gave us the opportunity to train all the components involved in this type of mission, perfecting the interaction between the Air Force Departments and improving national and NATO operational capacity.”
