MILAN \u2014 Italy has about 700 military personnel deployed to the Gulf region to help partner nations counter Iranian attacks, a fact that recently entered the public spotlight in the country, drawing criticism from opposition parties in parliament.<\/p>\n
Last week, the Italian Ministry of Defense disclosed publicly on its website the presence of two Italian task forces deployed across various Gulf countries to contribute to the surveillance and defense of the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Italian newspaper Il Giornale\u00a0first noticed the new webpage\u00a0and\u00a0brought<\/a>\u00a0Task Force Arabia to national attention on July 30 as part of a report outlining the mission\u2019s air component.\u00a0The Italian Ministry of Defense did not return a request for comment from Breaking Defense, but has argued that deployment of forces shouldn\u2019t be a surprise since the mission was approved by parliament in March, as publicly reported <\/a>at the time.<\/p>\n According to the ministry\u2019s website<\/a>, approximately 400 Italian Air Force personnel have been in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait since March, following targeted attacks on those countries from Tehran.\u00a0<\/p>\n Under Task Force Air-Arabia, notable military capabilities have also been provided: four Eurofighters tasked with supporting the defense of the assigned airspace, E-550A CAEW aircraft for early warning of air threats, and a KC-130J transport aircraft for operational support in \u201ckey theaters<\/a> of national interest in the Middle East and the Horn of Africa.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Rome has also deployed Task Group Kuwait as part of the mission, which it said on its website \u201censures air surveillance capabilities through an AN-TPS-77 air defense radar\u201d as well as Task Group C-UAS, equipped with the Leonardo-made ACUS-E anti-drone system designed to counter small drones.<\/p>\n Alongside the Air Force contingent, a 260-strong Italian Army component<\/a>, called Task Force Land-Arabia, has been deployed to the region, noted Matteo Mazziotti di Celso, a visiting research fellow at the Center for Military Maritime Studies, the think tank of the Italian Navy. This brings the overall Italian deployment to the Gulf region to roughly 700 personnel.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is certainly one of Italy\u2019s most significant deployments to the Gulf in many years \u2014 its importance lies not only in the number of personnel, but, above all, in the quality and scarcity of capabilities sent,\u201d Mazziotti di Celso said. \u201cIt has provided a considerable package of sophisticated air-defense, missile-defense and counter-UAS assets, some of which have only recently entered service and are available in limited numbers. Their loss or damage would therefore be significant.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The expert pointed to a report<\/a> from the Italian military magazine RID, which said that the land task force includes a SAMP\/T air defense battery and a Kronos radar in Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n Push-Back From Opposition<\/p>\n The decision to send troops has sparked criticism from some Italian opposition lawmakers, who say the deployment was made without a parliamentary mandate \u2014 a criticism the ruling Brothers of Italy party has rejected.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSending hundreds of soldiers to crisis areas, without Parliament\u2019s knowledge, is not only an unacceptable overturning of an already flawed law, but is contrary to every rule of political seriousness,\u201d a statement<\/a> published last week and signed by members of Italy\u2019s Partito Democratico said.<\/p>\n