Sharpening skills for SEAD

Italian Tornados practice EW in German ranges

For two weeks from 28 September to 9 October 2020, six Italian AF Panavia Tornado ECR fighters operated from the German airbase at Nörvenich, the aircraft from 6 ° Stormo which is based at Ghedi in north Italy. The Italian Tornados mainly practiced on the Polygone Range in south west Germany, with an average of four Tornadoes per flight. This was not the first time that the Italians practiced at Nörvenich, the Italians of the 6 ° Stormo often operates from this German airbase.

The Polygon Range is a unique training location in Europe for SEAD missions (Suppression of Enemy Air Defence). The Multinational Aircrew Electronic Warfare Tactics Facility Polygone is an Electronic Warfare Tactics Range located on the

border between Germany and France, a tri- national facility operated by France, Germany and the United States. During the training mission, so-called Smoking SAMs were used to create realistic training scenarios. A ‘Smokey SAM’ is an unguided simulation missile which produces smoke trail.

SEAD operations are also referred to as Wild Weasel in the United States, during these missions, the participating unit destroy targets such as surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), anti-aircraft guns (AAA), radar installations for early warning and command, control and communication functions etc. by air strikes. Suppression can be achieved physically by destroying the systems or by disrupting and misleading them through Electronic Warfare.

In modern warfare, SEAD missions can make up as much as 30% of all sorties launched in the first week of battle and continued at a reduced rate for rest of the action. SEAD missions are particularly dangerous for flight crew, as they penetrate enemy territory during the first offensive wave of a military campaign. SEAD missions disable the enemy’s air defences enabling other fighters to attack strategic targets, unseen and unhindered.