A typical mission of an Italian P-72A

Usually, when the Italian Air Force’s P-72A aircraft operate over the central Mediterranean, they are difficult to track. This is either because they operate with the transponder switched on only in Mode-S (requiring triangulation of signals to determine their route) or because they fly with the transponder turned off, leaving only the ‘military’ ones active.

However, yesterday we were able to follow a mission of an Italian Air Force P-72A (reg. MM62281) throughout the afternoon, as it operated with the ADS-B transponder turned on.

The mission took place entirely in international waters but within the Libyan SAR (Search and Rescue) zone. The aircraft also performed several orbits (over specific targets?) before returning to Sigonella, where it had departed from.

These types of missions are conducted for two distinct or concurrent purposes: to combat illegal immigration or to protect fishing vessels operating in the area, which in the past have been victims of intimidation (or even seizures) by the so-called Libyan Coast Guard