Two loud bangs were heard across northern Italy when two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons accelerated through supersonic speed to intercept a civilian airliner that failed to respond to the ATC (Air Traffic Control). Routine procedure.
What we can consider a routine intercept made the news in Italy today after the loud sonic booms of two Italian jets in QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) were heard across northwestern Italy. The two Eurofighter Typhoons, belonging to the QRA cell based at Istrana airbase, in northeastern Italy, were scrambled by the CAOC (Combined Air Operation Center) of Torrejon, Spain, after an Air France Boeing 777-300, registration F-GZNF and flying as AF671, failed to respond to the ATC calls. The two Typhoons intercepted the airliner near Aosta, close to the French border, managed to establish a radio contact with the crew and requested the French “wide body” to perform a 360° turn (clearly visible in the track recorded by Flightradar24) in order to verify that the aircraft was not being hijacked.
After the B777 complied with the interceptors request, the Italian Typhoons handed over the civilian aircraft to the French Air Defense and ATC, and returned home.
The route followed by AF671, with a pretty evident 360° turn performed close to the border between Italy and France. Credit: Flightradar24.com
This is not the first time a civil flight experiencing a radio failure is intercepted by the Italian Air Force QRA jets that “break” the sound barrier in the process. Supersonic intercepts are routine, when needed, all around the world. However, this morning’s incident sent the Italian media into a frenzy, especially after emergency agencies telephone switch boards started receiving reports of a large bang or “explosion” and some schools and a courthouse were even evacuated for safety reasons.
Nothing special then, just “the sound of freedom”…
British Typhoons heading to southeastern Europe to provide QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) from Romania.
On Mar. 27, the UK MoD (Ministry of Defence) has announced that four Typhoon combat planes, belonging to the 3 (Fighter) Squadron will fly from RAF Coningsby to Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase in southeast Romania, to support NATO’s Southern Air Policing mission from May to September 2017.
During QRA tasks Typhoons typically fly with two 2,000-lt drop-tanks (although this option will likely not be needed for Romania, as noted by IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly), four Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (ASRAAMs), four AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAMs), along with the internal Mauser 27 mm cannon.
With the deployment to Mihail Kogalniceanu Airbase, the Royal Air Force will become the first air arm to support NATO air policing mission to reassure local allies in the Black Sea region that is frequently “visited” by NATO intelligence gathering and maritime patrol aircraft as well as Russian combat planes, some of those buzz U.S. warships and spyplanes operating in the area.
Some NATO members provide air policing tasks for allies that lack aircraft and radars to do so autonomously (Albania, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia).
NATO has been protecting the Baltic skies since 2004, when Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined the Alliance. The Baltic air policing mission started in April 2004 and has been executed continuously ever since. Slovenia’s airspace is covered by Hungary and Italy. Albania is covered by Greece and Italy.
Allied Air Command (AIRCOM) headquartered at Ramstein, Germany oversees the NATO Air Policing mission with 24/7 command and control from two Combined Air Operations Centres (CAOCs); one in Torrejon, Spain, and one in Uedem, Germany. CAOC Uedem is responsible for NATO Air Policing north of the Alps and CAOC Torrejon for the south. The CAOC decides which interceptors will be scrambled according to the location of the incident.
The mission of patrolling the skies along NATO’s eastern border was intensified following the Russia-Ukraine crisis. The arrival of the British Typhoons is the last of a series of measures “to deter a Russian aggression over the Black Sea.”
The Eurofighter F-2000A jets (this is the designation of the single-seaters in accordance with the Italian Mission Design Seies) belong to the three units that operate the Typhoon: the 4° Stormo, from Grosseto; the 36° Stormo, from Gioia del Colle; and the 37° Stormo, from Trapani.
A Typhoon of the 18° Gruppo sporting the typical checkered tail.
An F-2000A from the Gioia del Colle-based 36° Stormo. Two Gruppi depend from this Wing: the 10 and 12° Gruppo.
The aircraft will operate until mid-April as part of a Task Force where personnel and equipment are completely integrated and interchangeable thanks to fully standardized procedures and training.
The images in this post were taken by photographer Eggert Norðdahl as the Typhoons arrived at Keflavik airbase for their second tour of duty in Iceland: in June 2013, as part of Operation “Icy Skies”, six Italian Eurofighters securing the airspace on the ally in the “High North.”
One of the Typhoons of the 4° Stormo. The Italians deployed to Iceland with three drop tanks, one AIM-120 AMRAAM and one IRIS-T air-to-air missile.
Two loud bangs were heard across central eastern UK on May 2, as two Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby were scrambled to intercept a Cityjet Avro RJ-85 that was flying as Air France 1558 from Paris Charles de Gaulle, France, to Newcastle, UK.
The RJ-85 failed to reply to the ATC (Air Traffic Control) calls prompting the British Air Defense to scramble two Typhoons in QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) that intercepted the airliner and escorted it to landing.
To reach the “unresponsive civil plane” the two Typhoon fighters accelerated to supersonic speed causing the sonic booms that shocked several houses in parts of Yorkshire at around 21.50LT.
The following video was filmed by a surveillance camera in North Leeds. Turn your speakers on to hear the two loud bangs!
Image credit: BAE Systems (not a RAF Typhoon as it carries an IRIS-T)
Russian Tu-16os launch Syrian air strike from Kola Peninsula, in far northwest Russia, in a global strike show.
During the night between Nov. 19 and 20, the Russian Air Force conducted a very long-range strike mission against IS targets in Syria: two Tu-160 Blackjack strategic bombers departed from Olenegorsk airbase, in the Kola Peninsula around 21.00z but, instead of taking the usual route through the Caspian Sea and Iran, went westbound, skirted the airspaces of Norway and the UK, flew over the Atlantic until Gibraltair, entered the Mediterranean sea and flew eastbound towards Syria and then eastbound along the usual corridor, back to Russia.
This video, released by Russia’s MoD shows the Tu-160s (and Tu-95) being armed and launched for the night mission.
Interestingly, the Blackjacks launched their cruise missiles (most probably the new, stealthy KH-101s that they have been using since they launched the first air strike on ground targets in Syria) from the Mediterranean Sea for the very first time. Here’s an image (there are more available on Twitter) of the Tu-160 flying over Syria, with an escorting Su-30SMs.
During the first part of their 13,000 km long journey, the Russian strategic bombers remained in international airspace and were intercepted and visually identified by some NATO QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) fighters scrambled to escort the Tu-160s. Among them, the RAF Typhoons from RAF Lossiemouth.
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