Poggio Dart 2025 - Istrana, Italy
The Exercise
From the 24th of November to 4th of December, the military airport of Istrana (TV) was at the center of one of the most important defense-based military exercises conducted in Italy.
The exercise is called Poggio Dart, or PODA, and this was not the first edition of the exercise; in fact, several editions have already been held in Italy. We can recall the 2022 edition hosted at Aviano, or the 2023 edition, which for the first time featured the Istrana Air Base as its main location.
Poggio Dart is a multinational military exercise organized within the NATO framework. It focuses primarily on integrated airspace defense and Command & Control (C2, or AirC2) in particularly complex scenarios. The exercise takes its name from the center that directs the entire operation: the NATO Deployable Air Command & Control Centre (DACCC), based in Poggio Renatico (FE).
The fundamental objective of the exercise is to test and strengthen NATO’s practical capabilities in managing and protecting airspace during complex situations. This is not a standard training event: the key point is to verify that the DACCC can operate as an independent and deployable headquarters, capable of planning, coordinating, and directing real air operations in real time, even when different member states use different equipment and procedures.
In practical terms, the exercise ensures that all levels of command and the various systems —from ground-based radars to fighter aircraft, from aerial refueling tankers to AWACS— are able to communicate, coordinate, and act as a single unified mechanism. This includes testing how military air traffic is managed under pressure, how fixed and mobile air defense units are coordinated, and how quickly simulated threats can be responded to, such as unauthorized aircraft entering airspace or missile attacks.
A vital element is also the alignment between each nation’s operational rules and NATO standards, allowing pilots, air traffic controllers, planners, and logistics personnel to work together seamlessly, even when coming from different national backgrounds.
The Participants
As the first participating nation, we obviously have to start with Italy, which hosted the exercise.
The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare), as customary, hosted and conducted the exercise. It took part with multiple assets assigned to different roles, ranging from air defense to aerial refueling and patrol missions. Among the participants were the home units: Eurofighter Typhoons of the 51st Wing, F-35As and Tornado aircraft of the 6th Wing, C-130 tactical transport aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade based in Pisa, KC-767 aerial refueling aircraft of the 14th Wing from Pratica di Mare, and finally the P-72 maritime patrol aircraft of the 41st Wing from Sigonella.
The Italian Navy (Marina Militare) also participated in the exercise, employing AV-8B and F-35B platforms.
Moving on to the foreign participating nations, we find Turkey, the United States, and NATO.
The Turkish Air Force truly delighted aviation enthusiasts with their fantastic Phantoms. As in the 2023 edition, the Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) took part with no fewer than three F-4E Terminator 2020 aircraft from the 111th Squadron, based at Eskişehir. The big surprise of this edition was undoubtedly their Phantom painted in a special livery to commemorate 50 years of service of this legendary aircraft.
The United States Air Force, as usual, participated in the exercise with its F-16C fighters from the 31st Fighter Wing, based at Aviano Air Base (PN).
NATO, on the other hand, employed an E-3A AWACS platform.
As mentioned, the primary highlights of this year’s Poggio Dart exercise were the Turkish F-4 Phantoms, specifically the aircraft sporting the 50th Anniversary livery. This Phantom (77-0303) features an exceptional special scheme: in addition to the striking Turkish flag on the top of the fuselage, the right side of the tail depicts the eyes of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founding father of modern Türkiye. The livery also prominently displays his famous quote, “İstikbal Göklerdedir,” which translates to “The future is in the skies.”
The Spotter Day
On Wednesday, 3 December, the 51st Wing decided to open the doors of their home base, allowing aviation enthusiasts to closely observe and document what was an actual exercise day.
Despite the bad weather, it can still be said that it was a truly Phantastic day! The Spotter Day was very well organized, and we were even allowed to visit the apron where the Turkish Phantoms were parked.
Our luck peaked exactly during the Phantom takeoff: just five minutes before their departure, the sun came out, only to disappear again a few minutes later. The miracle of the day!
A huge thank you goes to all the personnel of the Italian Air Force for this awesome opportunity, which, as always, they knew how to provide us with.
Gallery
Article by Diego Mor – Pictures by Diego Mor, Andrea Bellotti, Christian Bossi