For the first time in Italy , on Friday 19 March, a Eurofighter aircraft of the 4th Wing flew with four new GBU48 bombs, six missiles, two tanks and a LDP Litening pod.
This flight configuration, defined as “Full Load”, provides for the transport of the maximum armament capacity in the “Swing Role” tasks, ie to ensure both air defense and ground attack activities are carried out during the same mission.
The 4th Wing, born as an alarm base for the national Air Defense, has thus reached an important milestone in the operational activity carried out in the service of the Armed Force. While on the one hand the flight crew had to familiarize themselves with the aircraft configured with different weight and capacity compared to the normal operational activity, on the other hand the gunsmith personnel had to undergo the training necessary to safely manage all the pre and post phases flight in the new configuration.
The 4th Wing depends on the Air Squad Command through the Combat Forces Command. In addition to ensuring the operational conversion of the pilots of the Armed Force to be used in the Eurofighter F-2000 line, it is responsible for guaranteeing the air defense of the area of national interest, contributing to the control, since peacetime, of the relative airspace and carry out air defense operations in assigned areas, as part of participation in international crisis prevention and management operations. Specifically, the Department is engaged in the alarm service, 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, through the use of the Eurofighter aircraft.