Italian Air Force Scrambles Eurofighters at Radio‑Silent Civil Aircraft

On the afternoon of 17 July, two Eurofighter F‑2000 jets from the 4ᵗʰ Stormo based in Grosseto were launched under a scramble procedure after a civil aircraft lost radio contact while transiting Italy. The aircraft, which had departed Crete bound for Luxembourg, was last reported over the area west of Orvieto.

The Eurofighters intercepted the airliner, verified that communications were restored and that there were no safety concerns on board. After confirming the situation, the mission was terminated and the civil aircraft resumed its flight to its scheduled destination. The operation is part of Italy’s permanent Air Policing service, which monitors national and NATO airspace around the clock.