Folgore: Endex Mangusta 2025

“Mangusta 2025”, the main annual training event of the Paratroopers Brigade “Folgore”, has concluded, involving over 1,800 military personnel from 7 different nations and numerous units of the Army, Air Force, and Carabinieri Corps.
The activities took place in Tuscany, across the provinces of Pisa, Livorno, Siena, Pistoia, and Grosseto, in a high-intensity combat scenario.

A key exercise for the Folgore Brigade

The “Mangusta” is the reference training event for the Paratroopers Brigade “Folgore”, designed to verify the ability of airborne units to plan, prepare, and conduct a complex airborne operation in a multi-domain context.
The goal is to test the entire operational cycle: from area interdiction and counter-interdiction, aimed at denying the adversary freedom of movement and ensuring tactical superiority on the ground, to conducting a Joint Forcible Entry Operation (JFEO), which includes the airdrop, capture, and holding of a strategic objective.

The 2025 edition is particularly significant because it was conducted in a federated mode with two other important Army exercises: the CAEX II (Complex Aviation Exercise) of the Army Aviation and the MUFLONE of the Special Forces Command, with a highly integrated overall device.

Dynamic scenario and high-intensity combat

One of the peculiarities of the “Mangusta” is the dynamic generation of tactical events: opposing forces face each other on the ground realistically, creating a highly unpredictable training context.
This approach allows testing the decision-making readiness of commanders and the resilience of units, called to operate continuously, day and night.

The activities included:

• combat in wooded and underground environments;
• use of blank ammunition;
• use of simulation systems to increase realism and safety.

Advanced technologies and information domain

Great emphasis was placed on the experimentation and use of new technologies, increasingly central in modern operational scenarios. During the exercise, the following were employed:

• new satellite telecommunications and encryption systems;
• tactical-modular field power supply systems, integrable with solar panels;
• the “Imperio” Command and Control System and the “C2 DN EVO” system, which allowed command posts on the ground to plan, coordinate, and monitor operations in real-time.

The extensive use of drones was also crucial, enhancing observation, surveillance, and target acquisition capabilities, strengthening the informational framework available to commanders.

International cooperation in the Airborne Community

“Mangusta 2025” represented a significant opportunity for cooperation within the so-called Airborne Community, promoting interoperability among the airborne units of allied countries.

In addition to the Paratroopers Brigade “Folgore”, participants included:

• the 1st Airborne Brigade (Japan);
• the 11th Parachute Brigade (France);
• the 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team (United Kingdom);
• the Paratrooper Regiment 31 and the Airborne Reconnaissance Company 260 (Germany);
• the Brigada “Almogávares” VI de Paracaidistas and the Brigada de la Legión “Rey Alfonso XIII” (Spain);
• the 6th Airborne Brigade (Poland).

The presence of these units allowed refining common procedures, joint command and control capabilities, and interoperable operational standards.

Joint contribution and specialized units

The deployed device saw the joint participation of multiple Armed Forces and specialized units.

Army Aviation
Provided a rotary-wing component composed of CH-47F, UH-90A, AH-129D, UH-205A, and UH-168B/D helicopters, used for:

• air assault operations;
• air transport activities of personnel and materials.

Air Force
Provided support with:

• C-27J and C-130J aircraft from the 46th Air Brigade, for personnel and cargo airdrop;
• “Fuciliere dell’Aria” paratrooper personnel from the 16th Wing “Force Protection”;
• logistical and flight coordination support from the 4th Wing.

Carabinieri Corps
The 2nd Mobile Brigade participated with units from:

• 1st Paratrooper Carabinieri Regiment “Tuscania”;
• 7th Carabinieri Regiment “Trentino Alto Adige”;
• 13th Carabinieri Regiment “Friuli Venezia Giulia”.

The 1st “Tuscania” conducted typical Special Forces actions, while the assets of the 7th and 13th Regiments focused on security and control activities in the exercise area and counter-interdiction operations.

A complex and integrated device

In addition to all the units of the Paratroopers Brigade “Folgore”, the exercise involved:

• 1st, 4th, 5th, and 7th Army Aviation Regiment (“Antares”, “Altair”, “Rigel”, “Vega”);
• 66th Airborne Infantry Regiment “Trieste”;
• 87th Command and Tactical Support Unit “Friuli”;
• 9th Paratrooper Assault Regiment “Col Moschin”;
• 185th Paratrooper Reconnaissance Target Acquisition Regiment “Folgore”;
• 4th Alpine Paratrooper Regiment;
• 1st Regiment “Granatieri di Sardegna”;
• 33rd Tactical and Logistic Support Regiment “Ambrosiano”;
• 33rd EW Regiment;
• 13th HUMINT Regiment;
• 9th Cyber Security Regiment “Rombo”;
• 4th Health Unit “Bolzano”;
• assets equipped with the “Stinger” weapon system from the 121st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment “Ravenna”.

Consolidating capabilities and operational readiness

The synergy between national and foreign units, between land, air forces, and specialized units, allowed operations in a fully multi-domain operational environment, strengthening:

• interoperability between units and systems;
• coordination between different command chains;
• the ability to rapidly respond to high-intensity crisis scenarios.

“Mangusta 2025” thus confirms itself not only as a fundamental testing ground for the Paratroopers Brigade “Folgore” but also as a reference hub for joint training of allied airborne forces, in line with current and future operational needs.