The Task Group, directly reporting to the Commander of MISIN, will allow the mission to expand its operational and logistical capabilities within the Sahel.
The newly established Task Group operates from the Aérienne 101 Base in Niamey with the C-27J aircraft, a medium cargo particularly versatile and flexible in use and able to effectively carry out the various tactical transport missions, also operating from semi-prepared or deteriorated runways, as well as the airdrop missions of paratroopers, fundamental for the training of the personnel of the Nigerien Security Forces, carried out by the Mobile Training Team of MISIN.
The activities of the Task Group are integrated with those of the assets of the Forces Command for Mobility and Support of the Italian Air Force that guarantee the Sahelian Operational Theater their Airlift Transportation capabilities, or the potential for transporting personnel, materials and vehicles wherever there is a need, in the national territory and abroad, with an ability to intervene in all conditions and with minimum notice, even in hostile territories.
In particular, the 46th Air Brigade uses its C-27J, C-130J and C-130J-30 aircraft, capable of operating even from semi-prepared and small runways, while the 14th Wing provides the large load capacities of materials and passengers of the KC-767A Tanker/Transport. The air force transport aircraft make it possible to create and sustain over time that network of air connections that acts as a trait d’union with the operational theaters.
In addition, the Air Riflemen of the 9th and 16th Wings, dependent on the 1st Special Operations Air Brigade and the CFMS, Mobility and Support Forces Command, operate on board the Italian Air Force aircraft, guaranteeing the Air Marshall Security Service, or the set of measures and procedures aimed at minimizing the vulnerability of personnel, vehicles and operations, with a strict aeronautical connotation, with respect to any threat and in any circumstance; this in order to preserve the freedom of action and the operational efficiency of the forces in the field.
Since September 2018, MISIN has been operating according to a bilateral agreement between Italy and Niger, in line with the multinational effort aimed at stabilizing the Sahel. With its Mobile Training Teams, composed of personnel from the Italian Army, the Italian Air Force, the Carabinieri and the Special Forces, the Italian mission guarantees the increase of Nigerien capabilities in combating the phenomenon of illegal trafficking and security threats, in border surveillance and in the control of the territory.
To date, MISIN has trained about 6,500 soldiers of the Nigerien Defense and Security Forces.
