The 17th Raiders Wing ( it, 17º Stormo Incursori) is the

Italian Air Force , colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March ...

special forces unit. It is the youngest special force created in Italy. It is based in Furbara, near

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

and part of the ''Comando interforze per le Operazioni delle Forze Speciali'' (COFS—Special Forces Operations Command). Until 8 April 2008 the unit was named ''Reparto Incursori Aeronautica Militare'' (RIAM—Air Force Raiders Group) but with the expansion and evolution of the unit's assignments and its size, the name was changed to "17° Stormo Incursori".

Specialisations

* Combat Search and Rescue (C-SAR) * Combat Controller (Forward Air Controller and Joint Terminal Attack Controller) * Pathfinder * Direct actions against airbases and aeronautical compounds

Organization

Raiders Group

Raiders Group divided into: Command, Operations, Vehicles and Special Equipment, and four ''squadriglie'' (wings) of raiders, each of two to four detachments of eight to twelve soldiers. This means that the entire operational force will be (at full strength) from 64 to 192 soldiers.

Training Group

This branch provides training for the operational main force but is also capable of providing training sessions on: Evasion and Escape and EOD/EOR/IEDD to other Italian army and navy units.

Vehicles and equipment

17th Stormo is part of 1st Special Ops Air Brigade which also includes 9th Stormo equipped with modern HH-101A Caesar helicopters.http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/comunicazione/notizie/Pagine/riorganizzazione-1-brigata-aerea-operazioni-speciali.aspx, 1^ BRIGATA AEREA OPERAZIONI SPECIALI C-130J "Hercules IIs" and C-27J "Spartans" are also available. In the field the operative force is equipped with the VTLM "Lince", quads and jeeps. This unit has access to a large arsenal of sniper rifles and

anti-materiel rifle An anti-materiel rifle (AMR) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware (materiel). Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to elimi ...

s to be used to knock out aircraft. It also uses mini UAVs such as the "Strix" produced by Galileo Avionica, and L-3 Communication's "ROVER IV". The 17º Stormo Incursori has a variety of armament and equipment.

Personal weapons

* 9x19mm Beretta Px4 Storm Type D * 9x19mm

Glock 17 Glock is a brand of polymer- framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military and police service by 1982 after it was th ...

* 5,7x28mm

FN Five-seven The FN Five-seven (stylized as Five-seveN) is a semi-automatic pistol designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. The pistol is named for its 5.7×28mm (.224 in) bullet diameter, and the trademark capitalization style is intended to ...

* Heckler & Koch MP7

Assault and battle rifles

* 5,56x45mm Heckler & Koch 416 *

Heckler & Koch G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is a 5.56×45mm assault rifle designed in the early 1990s by German weapons manufacturer Heckler & Koch as a replacement for the heavier 7.62×51mm G3 battle rifle. It was accepted into service with the ''Bu ...

FN SCAR The FN SCAR (Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle) is a family of gas-operated short-stroke gas piston automatic rifles developed by Belgian manufacturer FN Herstal (FN) in 2004. It is constructed with modularity for the United State ...

* ARX-160A2 * 7,62x51mm

Heckler & Koch HK417 The Heckler & Koch HK417 is a battle rifle designed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. Being the larger caliber version of the Heckler & Koch HK416, and chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO rifle cartridge, it is intended for use where the penet ...

* MP-5A3 * MP-5SD3 *

Benelli M4 The Benelli M4 is a semi-automatic shotgun produced by Italian firearm manufacturer Benelli Armi SpA, and the last of the "Benelli Super 90" series of semi-automatic shotguns. The M4 uses a proprietary action design called the "auto-regulating ...

Sniper rifles

* 7,62x51mm Sr-25/Mk-11 * 7,62x51mm Sako TRG-22 * 8,6x70mm Sako TRG-42

Anti-materiel rifles

* 10,4x77mm BCM Europearms Extreme MAAR * 12,7x99mm Barrett M-82A1 * 12,7x99mm

PGM Hécate II The Hécate II is the standard heavy sniper rifle and anti-materiel rifle of the French Army, sometimes known as the FR-12.7 (french: Fusil à Répétition de calibre 12.7 mm or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by PGM Pr� ...

Combat accessories

* Aimpoint * Trijicon * Schmidt & Bender PM-2 * LAM 100/200 laser pointer * EOTech sights * AN/PEQ-2 insight system * AN/PEQ-4 insight system * AN/PEQ-15 insight system * Mako MEPRO MOR insight system * Insight Mk23 thermal camera

References

Air force special forces units Air force units and formations of Italy Special forces of Italy Military units and formations established in 2003 {{italy-mil-stub