The 17th Raiders Wing () is the

Italian Air Force The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italy, Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force ...

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

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

and part of the (COFS—Special Forces Operations Command). Until 8 April 2008 the unit was named (RIAM—Air Force Raiders Group) but with the expansion and evolution of the unit's assignments and its size, the name was changed to "".

Specialisations and Capabilities

* Hostage Rescue Operations (HRO) * Counterterrorism (Mostly Abroad) * Direct actions Against HVT (High Value Targets) * Military Assistance (MA) * Special Reconnaissance (SR) * Close Protection Units (Specialized in Abroad V.I.P. CPT) * Non-Conventional Warfare * Precision Airstrikes Against HVT (Special Ops. JTAC+ Capabilities) * Tactical Interdictions (Specialized against Airbases and Aeronautical Site of interest) * Combat Controller (CCT US/NATO Certified) * Combat Search and Rescue (C-SAR, SOCM Capabilities) * Combat Weatherman (SOWT) * Pathfinder in Non-Permissive Environments

Organization

Raiders Group

Raiders Group divided into Command, Operations, Vehicles and Special Equipment, and four (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 Raiders Wing is part of 1st Special Ops Air Brigade which also includes 9th Raiders Wing 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) targets. Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed ...

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 17th Raiders Wing has a variety of armament and equipment.

Pistols

* 9x19mm Beretta Px4 Storm Type D * 9x19mm

Glock 17 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer- framed, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. The firearm entered Austrian military an ...

* 5,7x28mm FN Five-seven

Shotguns

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

Submachine guns and personal defense weapons

Heckler & Koch MP7 The Heckler & Koch MP7 (German: ''Maschinenpistole 7'') is a personal defense weapon chambered for the HK 4.6×30mm armor-piercing cartridge designed by German defence manufacturer Heckler & Koch. History It was designed (together with the ...

* MP-5A3 * MP-5SD3

Assault and battle rifles

* 5,56x45mm Heckler & Koch 416 *

Heckler & Koch G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is an assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Ri ...

FN SCAR The FN SCAR (SOF (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 ...

* 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 ...

* IWI Arad

Light machine guns

IWI Negev The IWI Negev, also marketed as the Negev NG-5 is a dual-fed light machine gun chambered in 5.56×45mm NATO cartridge, developed by Israel Weapon Industries (IWI), formerly Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI). In 2012, IWI introduced the N ...

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 ( or "12.7 mm calibre repeating rifle"). It is manufactured by PGM Précision of France. This is the largest weapon manufa ...

Combat accessories

* Various Aimpoint, Trijicon and EOTech optical sights * Schmidt & Bender PM-2 * LAM 100/200 laser pointer * Insight

AN/PEQ-2 The AN/PEQ-2 Infrared Target Pointer/Illuminator/Aiming Light (ITPIAL) is a laser sight for use on rifles fitted with a Picatinny rail. It was manufactured by Insight Technology. In accordance with the Joint Electronics Type Designation System (J ...

, AN/PEQ-4 and

AN/PEQ-15 The Advanced Target Pointer Illuminator Aiming Laser (ATPIAL AN/PEQ-15), known colloquially as the "PEQ-15" [], produced by L3Harris (originally designed and manufactured by Insight Technology until their acquisition by L3Harris in 2010), is a mu ...

(infrared) laser sighting systems * Mako MEPRO MOR insight system * Insight Mk23 thermal camera

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:17 Stormo Incursori Air force special forces units Air force units and formations of Italy Special forces of Italy Military units and formations established in 2003