Italian Typhoons deploy to the Canary Islands to perform Dissimilar Air Combat Training with the Spanish Hornets

October 27, 2016 Italian Air Force
David Cenciotti

Four Italian F-2000s have deployed to Gando: 1,800 miles from their homebase without logistic support. A first for Italian Air Force tactical aircraft.

From Oct. 18 to 21, four Eurofighter Typhoon jets, belonging to the 18° Gruppo (Squadron), 37° Stormo (Wing) of the Italian Air Force, from Trapani airbase, have deployed to Gando Air Base, in Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, to undertake cooperative activity with the Spanish Air Force within the framework of EAG (European Air Group).

The F-2000As (as the aircraft are designated in accordance with the Italian Mission Design Series) were supported along the 1,800-nautical mile journey to Gando by a KC-767A tanker with the 14° Stormo from Pratica di Mare that refueled the Typhoons during the 4.5 hours of flight: it was the first time ItAF tactical jets deployed so far from home without accompanying technical support.

Once in the Canaries, the Italian aircraft undertook DACT (Dissimilar Air Combat Training) with the Spanish Air Force F/A-18 Hornets in anticipation of a possible participation in DACT 2017 exercise in Gando next year.

dact-gando

Image credit: Italian Air Force

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David Cenciotti is a journalist based in Rome, Italy. He is the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of the world’s most famous and read military aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for major worldwide magazines, including Air Forces Monthly, Combat Aircraft, and many others, covering aviation, defense, war, industry, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown several combat planes with different air forces. He is a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Force, a private pilot and a graduate in Computer Engineering. He has written five books and contributed to many more ones.

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4 Comments

  1. I would be curious to understand in what way are the Typhoon and Hornet dissimilar in aerial combat performance.

  2. While on the subject of Eurofighter, an Oct. 28th report in Aviation Week outlines how UK Typhoons decimated Malaysia’s Russian-made Su-30MKMs in the recent Bersama Lima 16 combat exercise:

    RAF Typhoons Claim Win In Exercise With Malaysian Flankers

    “The Royal Air Force (RAF) does not usually claim victory in an exercise—it prefers to stay quiet about such matters. But British Eurofighter Typhoon pilots report that they defeated Malaysian Sukhoi Su-30MKM Flankers in mock battles this month, with a new helmet-mounted sighting system regarded as essential.”

    I love it! More proof of the absolute superiority of Western fighters over their Russian-made counterparts. And the Su-30 is supposedly one of Russia’s top fighter jets. I am absolutely certain that in any war started by Russia (they seem intent on invading a number of NATO nations in the Baltics and Eastern Europe) that the West led by U.S. stealth aircraft would completely dominate the air battle.

    The Russian AF would be swept from the skies in a war. Su-27 (series) and T-50 would be no match for Western technology. Russia is a tech dinosaur, and their inferior fighters proves this. Israel’s experience with Russian MiGs and Sukhois in the Middle East during the 1982 Bekaa Valley Turkey Shoot was no aberration. We didn’t know it back then, but we were witnessing the beginning of the end of Russia’s ability to compete with the West in air combat. A turning point of unparalleled historic proportion. U.S. stealth superiority was the final nail in Russia’s air-coffin. Western 6th generation will continue what is an irreversible aerial-superiority trend.

    • Careful there my friend. You will incur the wrath of sukhoi and “RussiaPower” fanboys.

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