A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #31-25 - War Platform. Sicily and Control of the Mediterranean. (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Sicily has historically been a land of crucial importance for the 
control of the Mediterranean and surrounding areas. Since ancient times, 
those who exercised dominion over the island had the ability to control 
both civilian and military traffic routes between the East, West, and 
the northern coast of Africa. Sicily, with its annex on the island of 
Pantelleria, played a crucial role in the Second World War. Sicily was 
an important military base for both the Italian Air Force and the German 
Luftwaffe. The presence on Sicilian soil of 19 airfields and 12 
makeshift military camps (Birgi, Milo, Chinisia, Gerbini, Trapani, 
Boccadifalco, Comiso, Catania, Pantelleria, etc.) characterized much of 
the war in the Strait of Sicily, affecting transportation, supplies, and 
civilian and military supplies between Europe and Africa. Its numerous 
airfields hosted planes bombing Malta and escorting supply convoys to 
the North African front. For this reason, from December 1941 onwards, 
Luftwaffe command and units were heavily stationed between Catania and 
Ragusa, and in the Trapani area. During the Second World War, Sicilian 
cities were subjected to heavy and repeated air raids against which they 
were inadequately protected. Palermo in particular suffered heavy 
attacks for a long period: in addition to the port, the primary target 
of the raids, the historic center was also hit several times, causing 
serious damage to numerous important monuments and historic buildings.

Even today, Sicily's strategic position forces us to confront the 
serious problem of our island being a strategically dangerous base for 
war purposes, an island that serves militarily to others, especially as 
a launching pad for air raids against Libya and neighboring countries.

The situation in Sicily is truly dire, due to the excessive 
proliferation of US military installations, which have become out of 
control, so much so that Sicily can now be described as the American 
aircraft carrier of the Mediterranean.

Sigonella, Augusta, and Trapani are the focal points of all the most 
important land and air-naval exercises.

Furthermore, we do not know whether these bases store nuclear weapons, 
but the presence of Global Hawk drones at Sigonella and US nuclear 
submarines at Augusta is known, while it is not easy to know how the 
MUOS communications system is being used inside the US base in Niscemi.

The most important and strategic NATO base is the Naval Air Station at 
Sigonella. It is located on the Catania plain and is the base from which 
the US Navy's air component operates. Sigonella Air Base is adjacent to 
and dependent on an Italian Air Force base (home of the 41st 
Anti-Submarine Wing). The base consists of two sections (NAS I and II) 
approximately 16 km west of the city of Catania and 39 km south of Mount 
Etna.

Sigonella Air Base also hosts Naval Air Station Sigonella (NAS Sigonella 
or NASSIG) of the United States Navy. It is also used for NATO 
operations and is the headquarters of the Alliance Ground Surveillance 
Command (NAGSF). The area also hosts EUNAVFOR Med IRINI assets.

Sigonella is the US Navy's primary land base in the central 
Mediterranean, a logistical and operational hub for the Sixth Fleet and 
NATO operations. It hosts the Alliance Ground Surveillance program and 
Global Hawk drones.

Sigonella Air Base is a strategic hub for all US military operations in 
the Mediterranean, supporting all US Sixth Fleet operations in the 
Mediterranean. Sigonella also hosts the Joint Tactical Ground Station 
(JTAGS), a satellite reception and transmission system for predicting 
and controlling ballistic missile launches.

The NATO Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Command is closely linked to 
the MUOS (Mobile User Objective System), an advanced satellite system 
located within the Niscemi cork oak forest, used by the US military in 
the Mediterranean. MUOS provides essential broadband communications 
services for the US and NATO armed forces and represents an important 
strategic asset for US forces in the Mediterranean.

From Sicily, the Americans lead drones and military operations in 
Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean; Sicily provides crucial 
support for all the war and death-dealing actions of the US and its allies.

The Sigonella base and the MUOS make Sicily a strategic target for 
forces opposing Israel's bloody madness, a madness supported by the US 
and the European Union. Beyond Sigonella and Niscemi is the Augusta 
Naval Base (SR), a landing and logistical support base for the US Navy. 
The Augusta Naval Base and the Messina Naval Base are included in the 
modernization program to bring them up to NATO fleet standards.

Two other military airports are Pantelleria and Trapani Birgi. The 
airport on the island of Pantelleria is of great strategic importance 
due to its location in the center of the Strait of Sicily. It is home to 
an Air Force detachment under the 37th Trapani-Birgi Wing.

Trapani Birgi Airport, located between Misiliscemi and Marsala, is home 
to the 37th Wing. Birgi was used for military purposes in 1999 and 2011. 
In 1999, bombers took off from Birgi to strike Serbia during the Kosovo 
War, and it was similarly used in 2011 to bomb Libya during the war 
against the Revolutionary Arab Jamahiriya regime in Operation Odyssey 
Dawn. Today, the 37th Wing is equipped with modern Eurofighter Typhoons, 
second only to the new F-35s. By 2028, Birgi will be transformed into a 
NATO global training center for F-35 fighter-bombers. The facility, 
according to announcements, will become the largest in the world, along 
with the one already operating in Arizona, representing a strategic hub 
for the Atlantic Alliance in the Mediterranean.

To these already operational bases, we can also add the decommissioned 
missile base at Comiso (Rg), now a civilian airport, which could be 
converted into a military base in the near future.

Comiso, Sigonella, Birgi, and Niscemi have been and remain the primary 
targets of the Sicilian, Italian, and international antimilitarist movement.

For a Sicily free from military servitude, the closure and dismantling 
of military bases is one of the strategic objectives of the movement 
against rearmament, against war, and against growing militarism.

Renato Franzitta

https://umanitanova.org/sicilia-e-controllo-del-mediterraneo-piattaforma-di-guerra/
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