On Tuesday 2 December Colonel Giampaolo Schiavo handed over command of the Djiboutian-based Italian Task Force Air (TFA) to Colonel Elio Volpari.

During the past four months the TFA team has been operating with the EU’s counter-piracy Operation Atalanta, and conducted over 200 unmanned aerial flights in the Gulf of Aden, with the remotely piloted aircraft, known as Predator.

The handover ceremony took place in the presence of Rear Admiral Guido Rando, the Force Commander of the EU Naval Force. A number of national and international military authorities also attended the event.

Congratulating Colonel Schiavo for his achievements, Rear Admiral Rando also welcomed Colonel Volpari, and stressed the importance of the operations conducted by the TFA team.

The unmanned Predator MQ-1C aircraft of the 32nd Wing is normally based in Amendola, Italy. It is currently monitoring the waters of the Gulf of Aden, acting as ‘eyes in the sky’ to warn against potential pirate attacks against merchant ships, including World Food Programme vessels delivering humanitarian aid to the Somali people.