Typhoon Flag 2023

Text & Photography by Simone Marcato

The Typhoon

Almost twenty years after its introduction into service with the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (Italian Air Force – ItAF), the Eurofighter F-2000 Typhoon still represents the backbone of the frontline units, being in service with six combat squadrons and in a single OCU squadron, among four different Stormi (Wings).
After obtaining the Full Operational Capability (FOC) the aircraft was widely used in numerous national and NATO exercises and in operational deployments abroad. Two which particularly stand out are the one in support of the anti-ISIS coalition in the Middle East and the air policing missions in Iceland, Eastern Europe and in the Baltic Countries. During such activities, the Italian Air Force soon began to adopt a peculiar modus operandi towards the units that use the aircraft, making them work as a ‘single community’ rather than operating individually, thus seeking to optimize the use of both human and material resources.

The progression

Over the years this path has demonstrated its validity, and so the ItAF has decided to consolidate it by starting to carry out specific training activities called “Typhoon Flag” for the “Typhoon community”. Initially used almost exclusively in air-to-air roles, the F-2000 achieved new capabilities throughout its career, and it’s expected to add more in the near future. Thanks to several progressive software upgrades, constant adaptation of training activities and the introduction of new weapons, the Typhoon is at the peak of its career as a swing-role fighter.

The 2023 edition

“Typhoon Flag 2023” (TF 2023) took place at Grosseto Air Base from 28 August to 8 September, involving personnel and a dozen of Typhoons from the hosting 4° Stormo, the 36° Stormo from Gioia del Colle, 37° Stormo from Trapani and 51° Stormo from Istrana.

Col. Filippo Monti, 4° Stormo’s Commander, explained the importance of the exercise: “It’s an exercise that we try to do once a year. As they say, ‘Don’t air your dirty laundry’, and that’s precisely what we’re doing here. The intention is for us to understand our mistakes, where we need to improve, and what tactics we should implement. Typhoon Flag represents an important opportunity to consolidate standardisation: how to align both operational and maintenance procedures among the various squadrons operating the Eurofighters, while increasing the spirit of cooperation.”

Lt. Col. Giovanni Parisi, director of the exercise, said: “The TF 2023 focuses on two macro areas. One area concerns each pilot and his/her training. The aim is to improve their skills, while dealing with a fixed scenario, in case the pilot needs to fill some gaps, or carrying out advanced training in complex operational scenarios that evolve day after day, where, for example, a young pilot flies as a solo, wingman or leader of a formation flying with qualified “Weapons Instructors”, taking advantage of the lessons learned by them. These “Weapons Instructors” have in turn mastered and refined their knowledge at the previous edition of the Typhoon Flag or for example during the Cobra Warrior exercise, held at RAF Waddington, United Kingdom, last year. The second area focuses on the complete exploitation of the Eurofighter’s potential. This, let it be clear, is not intended to be an experimental activity – which is delegated exclusively to the Reparto Sperimentale di Volo (RSV) – but the application of what has already been tested and which is now available to the frontline’s pilots. We try to develop new possible tactics, benefiting from the increased aircraft’s performance due to the software upgrades and then verify the actual effectiveness of the new tactic, or as in the case of this edition, the “simulated” use of the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air (BVRAAM) missile“.

During the fifteen days of the exercise, both air-to-air and air-to-ground missions of various types were carried out in two daily waves (one in the morning and the other in the afternoon), each with about ten aircraft: DCA (Defensive Counter Air), OCA (Offensive Counter Air) and Swing Role, in-flight refuelling missions, thus involving areas over the Tyrrhenian Sea or those in the area of central Italy, sometimes flying together with the G550 CAEW, F-35 and KC-767, increasing the realism of the scenario when it was necessary to try some specific things. The next Typhoon Flags exercises are supposed to be carried out, on rotation, on all the bases which are hosting Eurofighter’s squadrons.

The author would like to thank Col. Filippo Monti, Commander of 4° Stormo; Lt. Col. Giovanni Parisi, Director of the Exercise; and Ten. Emanuela De Marchi, PAO of 4° Stormo, for the opportunity to attend this year’s media day.

36° Stormo, 37° Stormo, 4° Stormo, 51° Stormo, Aeronautica Militare Italiana, Eurofighter, F-2000, Grosseto Air Base, RSV, Typhoon, Typhoon Flag 2023

Latest Blog Articles