Stromboli volcano: Italian AMX jets support post-eruption operations

Aeronautica Militare eruzione vulcano Stromboli
Italian AMX carries a Reccelite pod.

AMX aircraft belonging to the 51st Wing of the Italian Air Force (ItAF) are currently engaged in performing reconnaissance missions over the Stromboli volcano, Sicily. The armed force is offering support to rescuers in the area following the eruption of the volcano on July 3.

Thanks to the sophisticated Reccelite photographic pod, normally used for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance (ISR) activities in war theaters, ItAF can provide rescuers with very high resolution images of the surrounding areas that are essential to define the most effective intervention methods.

Photo credit: Italian Air Force

This is not the first time that Italian combat aircraft operate on the occasion of natural disasters, for example AMX and Tornado have conducted the same type of missions even during the earthquake that struck central Italy in 2016.

ItAF can currently use the Reccelite pod on many aircraft in its fleet, including Typhoon. Recently, the F-2000A fighters have been deployed in operational theater to replace AMXs in ISR activities.

The Reccelite is a latest generation electro-optical recognition pod produced by the Israeli company Rafael. The system is equipped with very high resolution sensors and includes a ground station for planning missions and photo-interpretation of the data collected. The pod also has a datalink capability for transmitting the collected images to the ground.

Written by Matteo Sanzani


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