Siciliaturen starter i dag

I morgen på disse tider passerer jeg en av de store basene i Europa, nemlig Sigonella. Er jeg heldig ser jeg en Eurohawk i landingspattern. Jeg reiser rundt på øya i 14 dager, på bakken. Dette er 3. turen, og jeg ser alltid opp for ting som flyr. Det er forresten åpnet en ny flyplass på øya som gjør den lettere tilgjengelig for de som ønsker å besøke de flotte barokkbyene i sør øst. Den ligger ved byen Comiso. Ryanair flyr dit et par ganger i uken fra London.

USN P-3C på Sigonella

Naval Air Station Sigonella (IATA: NSY, ICAO: LICZ), "The Hub of the Med", is a U.S. Navy installation at NATO Base Sigonella and an Italian Air Force base (Italian: Base aerea di Sigonella) in Sicily, Italy. Although a tenant of the Italian Air Force, NAS Sigonella acts as landlord to more than 40 other U.S. commands and activities. It is located 15 km (8 NM) west and 11 km (6 NM) south of the city of Catania, and some 40 km (22 NM) south of Mount Etna. Because of its location near the center of the Mediterranean Sea, NASSIG is well placed to support operations by the U.S. 6th Fleet, other U.S. military units, and U.S. allies and coalition partners.
It also serves as an Italian base for the 41º Stormo Antisom (41st Antisubmarine Warfare Wing).
Among the aircraft that fly from this island base are U.S. Air Force C-130, C-17 and C-5 airlifters, KC-135 and KC-10 tankers and U.S. Navy P-3 Orions, C-2 Greyhounds C-130s, and C-9B Skytrain IIs and C-40A Clippers, and Italian Air Force Breguet Br.1150 Atlantics. It is one of the most frequently used stops for U.S. airlift aircraft bound from the continental United States to Southwest Asia and the Indian Ocean.