Spring Flag 2008: participants

The majority of the participating units were Italian. During the last couple of years the Italian Air Force has received some brand new hardware, so this edition saw a large group of EF2000 Typhoons facing F-16 Fighting Falcons, where only a couple of years ago 'seventies' Tornado ADV's would have been dogfighting with 'sixties' F-104 Starfighters.

The international players were Spanish (with F/A-18 Hornets), German (Tornado's), Greek and Turkish (both with F-16's). Air-to-air refueling support was provided by the USAF Europe which added a KC-135R operating from NAS Sigonella, Sicily. Daily AWACS support was provided by a French Air Force E-3 daily from Avord Air Base in France. Finally, Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) support came from a Falcon 20EW, operated by the civilian contractor FRAviation Services.

With almost eighty aircraft involved, Spring Flag 2008 proved to be one of the biggest exercises still left in Western Europe. Considering the real-life scenario and the excellent training area, it must have been a source of invaluable experience to all who were involved.

This article would not have been possible without the help of a lot of people. In particular we would like to thank the Media Operations Center, LtCol Alonsi and the Dutch Embassy in Rome for their cooperation and support.