The “Typhoon Flag” exercise gathered all the Eurofighter units of the Italian Air Force.
Jointly managed by the 36° Stormo (Wing) from Gioia del Colle and the 4° Stormo from Grosseto, “Typhoon Flag” was the most important exercise of the year for the Italian Air Force Eurofighter fleet. The drills took place from June 20 to July 15, 2022, at Gioia del Colle, elected as the MOB (Main Operating Base) of the exercise, where the F-2000As (as the single seater Typhoons are designated in Italy in accordance with the MOD’s Mission Design Series – the two-seaters are designated TF-2000A) from all the units redeployed for the two-week exercise.
From there, the Eurofighters from the 4°, 36°, 37° (from Trapani) and 51° Stormo (from Istrana) were involved in complex missions, some of those saw the participation of the F-35s of the 32° Stormo from Amendola, to improve the cooperation between 4th and 5th generation assets.
According to the Italian Air Force, the missions flown during “Typhoon Flag” were part of the service’s “Weapons Instructor Course”, carried out in anticipation of the “Cobra Warrior” exercise that the Aeronautica Militare will join in the UK in September. The drills allowed the various squadrons to train in complex scenarios while improving standardization (much needed, for instance, to take part in NATO missions as part of a Task Force with mixed aircrews) and developing new tactics related to the use of the weapons.
The Reparto Difesa Aerea Missilistica Integrata (Integrated Air and Missile Defense Unit), the 14° Stormo from Pratica di Mare with the CAEW and KC-767A aircraft, the 16° and 17° Stormo, as well as the RESTOGE (Reparto Supporto Tecnico Operativo alla Guerra Elettronica – Electronic Warfare Technical and Operational Support Unit) supported the exercise, that also saw the involvement of the pilots attending the 33rd Operational Conversion Course of the 20th OCU (Operational Conversion Unit) of the 4° Stormo.
