Home  /  Newsroom  /  News 2026  /  NISRF Training Centre Prepares Host Nation Personnel for ACE Operations

NISRF Training Centre personnel use virtual reality technology to provide realistic, hands-on training and build proficiency in procedures required to support RQ-4D Phoenix operations. (Photo by Royal Norwegian Air Force)

SIGONELLA, Italy – Days before the first RQ-4D Phoenix arrived in Norway and Finland, personnel from the NISRF Training Centre were already on the ground helping prepare the conditions for successful operations.

As part of preparations for NISRF’s ongoing Agile Combat Employment (ACE), instructors from the NISRF Training Centre travelled to Ørland, Norway, and Pirkkala, Finland, to train Host Nation personnel in procedures required to support operations of NATO’s RQ-4D Phoenix.

The training combined classroom instruction, practical demonstrations and virtual training technology to familiarize personnel with aircraft handling procedures, safety requirements, towing operations and the coordination processes necessary to support RQ-4D Phoenix operations away from NISRF’s Main Operating Base at Italian Air Force Base Sigonella, Italy.

Operating from dispersed locations requires more than aircraft and aircrew. It relies on trained personnel, established procedures and close cooperation between NISRF and Host Nation partners. The activities conducted by the NISRF Training Centre formed an important part of the preparations that enabled subsequent operations in Norway and Finland.

The professionalism and commitment demonstrated by our Norwegian and Finnish partners throughout the training created a strong foundation for the operations that followed and allowed them to quickly support RQ-4D Phoenix operations upon arrival

“Preparing Host Nation personnel before the arrival of the aircraft was a critical step in ensuring safe and effective operations during our ACE,” said Colonel Luca Gagliardi, Director NISRF Training Centre. “The professionalism and commitment demonstrated by our Norwegian and Finnish partners throughout the training created a strong foundation for the operations that followed and allowed them to quickly support RQ-4D Phoenix operations upon arrival.”

Beyond technical instruction, the training provided an opportunity to establish common procedures, strengthen cooperation and build working relationships between NISRF and Host Nation personnel before the start of flight operations.

Finnish Air Force personnel and NISRF Training Centre instructors after completing RQ-4D Phoenix support training in Pirkkala, Finland, ahead of Exercise Ramstein Flag 2026. (Photo by Finnish Air Force)

A NISRF Training Centre instructor explains key components of the RQ-4D Phoenix and associated support procedures during training conducted in Ørland, Norway. (Photo by Royal Norwegian Air Force)

“The training helped me understand the procedures and requirements involved in supporting RQ-4D Phoenix operations. It was useful to work directly with the NISRF instructors before the aircraft arrived and get a better idea of how everything would work once operations started in Finland,” said a member of the Finnish Air Force who participated in the training.

The successful operations subsequently conducted from Ørland and Pirkkala during NISRF’s ongoing ACE were built on close cooperation between NISRF and its Host Nation partners, beginning before the arrival of the first RQ-4D Phoenix. The training delivered by the NISRF Training Centre helped establish the foundation for the operations that followed throughout the ACE, including NISRF’s support to Eastern Sentry from Norway and Finland and, later, Exercise Ramstein Flag 2026 from Finland.

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