The tiny Italian island of Pantelleria sits in the middle of the azure Mediterranean - one corner of an island triangle; along with Malta and Lampedusa - about 100km off Sicily's south coast. It's normally a peaceful spot, where crystal waves lap golden beaches, and the occasional tourist flight lands at the island's airport. A paradise for divers and a tranquil idyll for sun worshippers. But that all changed on July 30, 2020, when the Italian Aeronautica Militare (AM - air force) arrived. With its support of NATO actions around the globe dragging its forces further afield, the Italian AM General Staff decided to test its readiness for such deployments, with an exercise called 'Proof of Expeditionary Concepts'. In this operation, several of the force's air capabilities were to be integrated, demonstrating its ability to deploy from small airfields, without huge infrastructure and deprived of the usual means of support.
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