Ministero della Difesa

The Joint Force Air Component (JFAC) mission is to plan, develop, task and conduct air missions in accordance with the Joint Force Command (JFC) directives. The JFAC is headed by the Joint Force Air Component Commander (JFACC) who receives his command and control authority from the Joint Force Commander. During operations the JFACC is usually appointed as Joint Force Air Defence Commander (JFADC) and Joint Force Airspace Control Authority (JFACA).

The NATO JFAC is an operational command and control structure which is activated during crisis. During peacetime the standing structure is called “Core JFAC”. It is based within Ramstein Air Command Headquarter (Ger) and it is responsible to develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that will be used during operations. The Core JFAC has a limited number of assigned personnel. For this reasons, when activated, the JFAC must be implemented with augmentees.

In addition to the NATO JFAC, there are also National JFACs, part of the NATO Force Structure, which are available for National or Multinational operations.

The standard structure is composed of five Divisions: Strategy, Combat Plans, Combat Operations, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) and Combat Support. The JFAC structure may change depending on the operation type; it can be fully or partially activated, with different levels of manning. 

The Italian JFAC (ITA-JFAC) has the same structure and mission of the NATO JFAC. The Italian standing structure - similarly called “Core JFAC” - is based within the Air Operations Command (Comando Operazioni Aeree – COA) Poggio Renatico.