KC-130J: ITALY's FORCE MULTIPLIER

摘要

Although Operation 'Unified Protector' saw the combat debut of Italian AF KC-767As, the tankers called on to support the majority of the Italian sorties over Libya were the KC-130Js of 46 Brigata Aerea. FLYING FROM PISA (AND, occasionally, Trapani) and operating under national or NATO command from the early stages of 'Odyssey Dawn', the Italian AF Hercules fitted with air-to-air refuelling (AAR) kits offloaded hundreds of thousands of pounds of fuel to Italian AF Tornado IDS and ECRs, F-2000As and AMXs of Task Group 'Air' at Trapani, and Italian Navy AV-8B+ Harrier IIs from the carrier Garibaldi. Given the tanker shortage throughout the duration of the campaign, the almost daily sorties by Italian KC-130Js in the refuelling areas located at the boundary between the Malta and Tripoli Flight Information Regions contributed greatly to sustaining the missions tasked by NATO to enforce the no-fly zone and keep pro-Gaddafi forces under pressure.