Military Information Service (Kingdom of Italy)
| Servizio Informazioni Militari | |
 | |
| Intelligence agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | May 1, 1948 |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Annual budget | Classified |
| Intelligence agency executive |
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The Military Information Service (Italian: Servizio Informazioni Militari, S.I.M.) is the military intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Italy. S.I.M. is responsible for intelligence and security activities involving the military defence of Italy and for the integrity of the Italian State and of the Italian Empire.
S.I.M. reports to the Italian Ministry of Defence and operates both inside and outside of Italy's borders, and is required to disclose to him all information received or otherwise in its possession, analyses and elaborate situations, the transactions made and all matters relating to its activities. Its motto is "Omnia silendo ut audeam nosco" (Latin for "Hushing to listen, I know everything").
The S.I.M. has the duty to seek and develop expertise in the areas of all relevant information to the defence of the independence, integrity and security of the Kingdom of Italy from military or non-criminal threats; it carries out the activities of intelligence and security to protect the Italian military, scientific and industrial interests, and also identifies and counteracts the military and espionage activities aimed at harming national interests. It is feasible that domestic Intelligence and Security, which normally fall under OVRA or Public Security's jurisdiction, involve S.I.M. too, unless the security threat came from organised crime. In theory, S.I.M. and O.V.R.A. should work together; however, in practice they are two hotly rival agencies. S.I.M. duties include also clearing activities with the Chief of Government and with the Duce.
Cooperation duties
The S.I.M. can use, with the authorisation of the Chief of Government, means and infrastructures of any other State administration.
Within their respective powers, the Armed Forces, Police Forces, Security Forces, officers and agents of judicial police and of public security provide all possible cooperation, including technical-operational, personnel services of information for security, for carrying out the tasks entrusted to them. If the requested information are related to criminal investigations, they can be acquired only after receiving the authorization or nulla osta by the Minister of Justice, if they are covered by the confidentiality of investigations. The judicial authority may forward the documents and information on its own initiative.
On the other hand, the judiciary cannot violate the State Secrets above the Classified level, cannot enter into the S.I.M.'s premises or acquire any file. S.I.M. members may be required to testify upon specific authorisation of the Chief of Government.
"Related Services" are foreign intelligence services, each linked to certain subjects; some intelligence services are "related services" on all subjects, other Services on only certain branches.
Personnel
S.I.M. Personnel is made up employees, both of civilian and military status, who are transferred, with their consent, and employed exclusively by the Service, as well as personnel directly recruited. The Chief of Government, by decree and upon proposal of the Minister of Defence, appoints and dismisses the Commander of S.I.M., selected from the General of Army Corps or equivalent ranks. Service personnel do not hold the status of officer or agent of Judicial Police: these qualities are suspended during the period of belonging to S.I.M. for those that hold this status according to the regulations of the administration of origin.
In relation to the conduct of activities strictly necessary for a specific operation, the status of officer of agent of Public Security, with prevention police functions, may be attributed to any of the employees, for not more than one year, by the Chief of Government. The attribution of the qualification is renewable and is communicated to the Minister of the Interior. Service personnel must report the facts constituting an offence to the Commander who informs the Chief of Government.
The Commander of the Service, upon notice to the Chief of the Government, may authorise the use, on the part of employees, identification documents and certificates containing cover identities. These documents do not confer qualifications of agent or officer of the judicial police, public security or tax police. In addition, the Service Commander may authorise the exercise of simulated economic activities, of whatever nature.
Differently from the whole remaining military complex, within the S.I.M. the rank has little or no significance; the only requirement is that the commanding officer is an Army Corps General (or equivalent rank; by tradition, the commander of the S.I.M. is a Navy Flag officer) and that the commanders of technical centres are officers.
Officers
Officers are organised into six special ranks:
- Collaborator: Second Lieutenant, Lieutenant, Captain (and equivalent ranks);
- Sectional Director: Major, Lieutenant Colonel (and equivalent ranks);
- Deputy Divisional Director: Colonel (and equivalent ranks);
- Divisional Director: Brigadier General (and equivalent ranks);
- Deputy Director: Major General (and equivalent ranks);
- Commander: Lieutenant General (and equivalent ranks).
Organisation
The Service is divided into some Departments (Reparti), 17 Divisions (Divisioni) and three Directorates (Direzioni); in turn, Divisions are subdivided into Secretariats (Segreterie) and Sections (Sezioni). Departments have coordination tasks between some Divisions; however, directors of the divisions have a direct link with the Commander of the Service (but usually they pass through the Department head). Each Division has an its own secretariat, an its own sorting office, an its own archive protocol. Each Division is led by a Director, who rotates among Divisions, assisted by a Deputy Director and by the Section Directors. Within the Service is an absolutely rigid compartmentalisation. The Commander of the Service may dispose of any element at its disposal to fulfil the tasks of the Service.
- S.I.M. Staff;
- External Relations Office: the Office has the task of organising the needs of those who want to speak with representatives of the Service divisions and foreign representatives;
- Legal Counsel Office;
- Special Secretariat: the task of officials of the Secretariat is to monitor the other agents, check their loyalty, their expenses for undercover operations, but they can be used, since they are the trustee of the Commander, even for some missions.
- Chief of Cabinet;
- Deputy Commander for Human intelligence and Operations: in charge of coordinating foreign activities;
- Deputy Commander for technological activities and targeted interventions; in charge of dealing with technological activities or targeted interventions;
- 1st Division - Defence;
- 2nd Division - Research: foreign espionage (structured into sections coinciding with those of the O.V.R.A. First Central Directorate);
- 3rd Division - Rome and security;
- 4th Division - General Analysis;
- 5th Division - Situation: international relations;
- 6th Division - Internal Security and Internal Inspection: it is the tool through which the Commander of the Service monitors the loyalty and correctness of the behaviour of the operational divisions;
- 7th Division - Military intelligence;
- 8th Division - Counter-terrorism and stay behind operations;
- 9th Division - Industry;
- 10th Division - International operations: operations other than espionage;
- 11th Division - Security and Territory: coordination of the peripheral networks;
- 12th Division - Economic and Financial intelligence;
- Economic intelligence peripheral network;
- 13th Division - Science and technology transfers;
- 14th Division - Signal Intelligence and Information Security: includes technical support;
- 15th Division - Military Attachés;
- 16th Division - Operating Troops: security of Italian troops abroad;
- 17th Division - Military facilities security;
- 18th Division - Special Operations: directly subordinated to the S.I.M. Commander;
- Health Directorate: with psychological selection functions and health support to the R.U.D.;
- Air Directorate (Head-quartered in Ciampino airport);
- Administration Directorate;
- Personnel Directorate.
The departments and offices involved in the information and security detached at each armed force or armed corps of the State are concerned only with military-technical and military police activities, limited to the individual Armed force or Corps, and work under the S.I.M.
1st Division - Defence
1st Division - Defence is the branch concerned with military security and counter-espionage, with occasional support role to police forces. The 1st Division is the only element which may have relations with police forces (usually through the Intelligence and Security Organisation). The Division has a complex structure:
- Division Head;
- Section S - Security;
- Office R: reliability of S.I.M. members;
- Office P: escort teams
- Section A - Counter-espionage Listening Centres (with several Centres through Italy and especially in Rome, where there are four Centres). Each Centre head has some apartments in order to meet the confidential sources.
- Section E - Foreign counter-espionage;
- Section M - Electronic threat;
- Section C - Organised Crime;
- Direct Operational Squad.
Security Section
Within the 1st Division - Defence, Section S - Security (Italian: Sezione S - Sicurezza, abbreviated in SE.S.) performs the functions associated with the counter-intelligence and the identification of internal and external information activities to the detriment of the military and internal security of the Republic. The Security Section conducts research and collection of reports of threats connected with industrial espionage against strategic installations, specific military espionage, dissemination of news or acts aimed to destabilising the national political, social or economic life.
The Security Section normally operates on the national territory through the Carabinieri and, abroad, through the operations centres. The Director of the Security Section is an officer not below the rank of colonel. It can be a civil official ranking Division Director or equivalent.
Within the Security Section there are two Offices: Office R, tasked with the reliability of S.I.M., and Office P, which operates escort teams.
Counter-espionage Listening Centres
The Counter-espionage Listening Centres (Italian: Centri di Ascolto e Controspionaggio, shortened in Centri CS) is the primary defensive network of the 1st Division - Defence. There are several Centres "CS" throught Italy and especially in Rome, where there are four Centres (thematically organized). Cities with more than two Centres CS, often also have a eavesdropping centre (Centro di Intercettazione) directly linked with the relevant Centres Group.
The Centres Group (Raggruppamento Centri) acts as link between peripheral structures and Defence General Staff, while the Subcentre (Sottocentro) as a division of a Centre and it usually is led by a Captain.
The Centres Group is usually led by a Lieutenant Colonel of by a Colonel, who is assisted by a junior Officer and by a dedicated Unit.
Direct Operational Squad
The Service avails itself of a Direct Operational Squad (Italian: Squadra Operativa Diretta, S.O.D.), specialized in «dirty operations» and for clandestine expatriation operations. The Direct Operational Squad is able to move throughout the national territory and was independent from the central management. The Direct Operational Squad is led by a junior officer, consists of an handful of agents and reports directly to the head of the 1st Division - Defence.
2nd Division - Research
2nd Division - Research (Divisione II - Ricerca) is in charge of foreign espionage of strategic-military character. While the O.V.R.A. First Central Directorate is the leading body of the foreign espionage, Military Information Service supports the gathering of foreign espionage related to strategic matters. The 2nd Division is the leading Division of the Department of Human intelligence and Operations.
The Division is structured into geographical sections coinciding with those of the O.V.R.A. First Central Directorate:
- Europea Section;
- Africa Section;
- America Section;
- United States Section;
- Arab Countries Section;
- Asia and the Pacific Section;
- Section AT: counter-terrorism;
- Section C: manages all foreign operational centres;
- Section M: Strategic affairs;
- Section RE: Electronic Research;
- Section P: Plans.
4th Division - General Analysis: data elaboration and analysis
The 4th Division analyzes all information to transform it into further information needs.
6th Division - Internal Security and Internal Inspection
The Internal Security and Internal Inspection Division is a department that monitors the assets of the Service: databases, infrastructures, loyalty of the operations, the undercover operations, the relationship with the informants and, last but not least, the congruity in the reporting of management expenses: the money recognized to confidential sources but also the expenses of representation of foreign centres. The Division works in conjunction with the S.I.M. Military Police Group of the Intelligence and Security Organisation.
8th Division - Counter-terrorism and stay behind operations
8th Division - Counter-terrorism and stay behind operations is the branch of the S.I.M. tasked to provide support to the internal defence in case of antifascist subversion and/or foreign invasion. The 8th Division liasies with the Defence Units Group for training purposes. The 8th Division is organised on some Sections:
- Peripheral internal network (Listening Centres);
- Section SAD - Special Studies and Documentation: planning support to internal defence;
- Air-Naval Section: logistic support to internal defence;
Section SAD - Analsys and Documentation
Within the 8th Division, Section SAD - Special Studies and Documentation (Sezione Analisi e Documentazioni, Sezione A.D.) performs roles of central support of the internal defence in case of antifascist foreign invasion or subversion.
Within Section SAD - Special Studies and Documentation, there are:
- Section Head;
- Section Command;
- Deputy Section Head;
- Captain of the Carabinieri for the control of external personnel;
- International Relations Team;
- Transmissions and Technical Support Team: the team takes care of collaborating in the procurement of any telecommunication equipment, providing for the maintenance of telecommunication equipment and the training of operators in the equipment;
- Air transport Team.
9th Division - Industry
The 9th Division - Industry deals with the Italian industrial security, taking care of industrial security, strategic contracts and weapon exports, including counter-proliferation activities. The 9th Division is very sensitive, because Italy and the Italian Empire are in a hub position for weapons trafficking. The 9th Division consists of:
- Section N: NBCR Threat;
- Section M: Missile Threat;
- Section C: Strategic contracts.
10th Division - International operations: operations other than espionage
The 10th Division is in charge of all activities abroad which are not directly related to information gathering, including extrajudicial killings and other security operations.
- Special Services Section;
- OSSI Section;
- Special Training Section;
- Office "R";
OSSI Section
Normally violent actions are carried out using common criminals, who then may end up with a bad end, being eliminated by other delinquents. However, the Service has an operational group of men trained for guerrilla and anti-guerrilla operations. The members of this Section are all ex-paratroopers, equipped with the most sophisticated weapons. They must have the same psycho-physical and training characteristics as the Special Forces personnel in order to be able to cope with any operational need of the S.I.M.
The "Special Operators Intervention Service" (It.: "Operatori Speciali Servizio di Intervento" O.S.S.I.) are personnel specifically trained to perform technical and operational activities related to the non-conventional war, in hostile territory and in any environment. They are mostly drawn from the Special Forces.
14th Division - Signal Intelligence and Information Security
14th Division - Signal Intelligence and Information Security is responsible for identifying and neutralizing attacks on information resources of the Agency and the Country, implemented through IT tools. The Military Information Service participates in numerous international fora, in order to keep its cyber defense capabilities constantly updated and to ensure timely exchange of information on cyber-intelligence, in order to reduce vulnerability and increase the ability to discriminate the type and origin of the attackers.
Defence Units Group
The Defence Units Group (It: Raggruppamento Unità Difesa, R.U.D.) is a branch of the Defence General Staff, with the task of dealing with the support, surveillance, defence and logistics of military installations belonging to the S.I.M. Military personnel of the Group is drawn from the Armed Forces as well as from both the Royal Police Corps and the Royal Finance Guard; the latter ones lose their capacity of Agents or Officers of Judicial/Tributary Police, as well as the capacity of Officer of Public Security, but they do retain the capacity of Agents of Public Security, during the detachment period to the R.U.D. People assigned to the R.U.D. have to pass a further training period before being actually incorporated. During sensitive periods, paratroopers or even special forces soldiers may be detached to augment the protection and surveillance. However, R.U.D. personnel are clearly not part of the S.I.M. intelligence branch, nor garrison all S.I.M. centres or take part in S.I.M. operations outside the site surveillance and defence.
Active R.U.D. bases are located in eight Detachments, which guard important S.I.M. locations and facilities: Sigonella, Torre Poglina (Alghero), Oristano, Teolo (Padua) Cerveteri, Lecce, Ladispoli and San Donà di Piave (Venice). Each Detachment consists at least of a composite Platoon, with the force assigned varying according the Detachment category; the Cerveteri Detachment has two whole Companies. Within Detachments, soldiers are subdivided according their parent Armed Force, with the C.P.R. and G.R.d.F. personnel being considered part of the Italian National Royal Army.
The Group is a complex unit, having under its own command an Operational Section, structured as a two-battalions Infantry Regiment, a Command Section, a Sappers Training Centre (in charge of training for all S.I.M. operatives), a Support Section and a G.N.R. Company. The Command Section has a Command Company, which carries out the traditional command functions, an Administration Office, a Purchases Office and a Financial Planning Office, as well as a Transportation Company. The Support Section consists of the 1st Joint Helicopter Squadrons Group "Drago" (1° Gruppo Squadroni Elicotteri Interforze "Drago", a Battalion-level unit, based in Ciampino) with support tasks for both the S.I.M. strictu sensu and the R.U.D. Finally, the G.N.R. Company performs security and military police functions. The Group Commander is, usually, an Army Brigade General, but there have been also Navy and Air Force commanders; officers assigned to the Group usually remain for a large part of their professional lives, while for Subofficers and Troops the R.U.D. is an assignment like many others.
Group Battalions and Companies are for administrative use only; in each Detachment, functions ordinarily carried out by the Battalion and the Company Commanders are carried out by the Detachment Commander, usually a senior Subofficer, who manages not only infantrymen, but also drivers and all other RUD personnel who is in that base or facility; below him there are the Platoon Commander (who can be the same Subofficer who acts as Detachment Commander), and there are no Team Chiefs (Caposquadra), but only the Post Chiefs (Capoposto).
The facilities permanent personnel is composed of a S.I.M. commanding officer, and of subofficers coming from the various Arms and Corps, who work with computer and electronic technology and some of them also perform barrack services: deputy commander, warehouse subofficer, administration, subofficer of the day, etc., usually aided by a corporal.
Military Attachés
The Military Attachés represent Italy in defence and military-diplomatic relations with foreign governments around the world. The 14th Division also manages and conducts overt human intelligence collection activities. Military Attachés serve from Military Attaché Offices co-located at Italian Embassies in foreign nations. Military Attachés also represent the Minister of Defence in diplomatic relations with foreign governments and Armed Forces and coordinate military activities with partner nations.
Second Unit of Information and Security
The Second Unit of Information and Security (It: II Reparto Informazioni e Sicurezza, II R.I.S. or RIS) is an unit of the Italian military intelligence, dependent on and part of the Defence General Staff and, therefore, directly under the Under-Chief of Defence General Staff. The Second Unit was established in 1998 and it employs the Armed Force Information and Situational Information Services. The Second Unit of Information and Security is headed by a Division General - or equivalent ranks - whose position rotates among general officers of the Army, Navy and Air Force; with regard to the strategic-military aspects of intelligence, to the operational, security and counter-information activities, the Unit Head may correspond directly with the Chief of the Defence General Staff. The Unit is divided into a Unit Head, the Unit Secretariat, the Administrative Section and two Deputy Unit Head (Information and Security). The Deputy Unit Head (security sector) directs the Military Attachées Office, the High-tech materials and weaponry Office, the Defence Security Office and Asymmetric threat analysis Office; the Deputy Unit Head (information sector) controls the Information Policy Office, the Electronic Warfare Office, the Military Police Office, the Joint Information Centre and the Joint Electronic Warfare Centre.
All Offices of Military Attaches and the National Intelligence Cells scattered in operational theatres, as well as military delegations to international organizations and alliances, depend on the Unit. The Unit has the task of character and general safety information in Italy and abroad, military-technical and military police (in cooperation with the National Republican Guard); in particular, the Unit is responsible for each useful information in order to protect the principals and the activities of the armed forces abroad. The Second Unit works under the S.I.M.
Organisation
The Second Unit of Information and Security is led by the Head of the Second Unit of Information and and Security.
- Head of the Second Unit of Information and Security
- Particular secretariat;
- Second Unit Secretariat;
- Administrative Section;
- Headquarters Command;
- Military Police Office;
- Deputy Head of Operational Information Department, on which depend:
- Joint Intelligence Centre;
- Joint Training Centre for Electronic Intelligence and Warfare;
- Deputy Head of the Security and Military Attachments Department, on which depend:
- National Military Office of Military Attachés: tasked with surveillance on foreign Military Attachés and with communications with Italian Military Attachés;
- Defense Security Office;
- Security Office for the Handling of Defense and High Technology Products;
- Defense Evaluation Center;
- Deputy Head of the Information Policy and Satellite Remote Sensing Department, on which depend:
- Asymmetric Threat Analysis Office;
- Information Policy and Electronic Warfare Office;
- Satellite Remote Sensing Office;
- Remote Sensing Satellite Joint Centre.
Joint Intelligence Centre
Given its task, the Second Unit operates mainly in war zones and areas at risk where they are employed Italian soldiers, and, through the operational arm "Joint Intelligence Centre" (Centro Informazioni Interforze, C.I.I.) deals with IMINT, SIGINT, ELINT, HUMINT and COMINT. In turn, the C.I.I. is assisted by the II R.I.S. three functional branches, the Operational Information and Current Status Services, which are specialised groups in a given form of warfare.
The C.I.I. has three main operational arms: Air intelligence, naval intelligence and SIGINT.
Remote Sensing Satellite Joint Centre
The Italian military satellites are managed by an inter-agency structure under the responsibility of the II R.I.S. Currently there are more than ten Italian satellites and they guarantee effective SIGINT/IMINT coverage and surveillance. All images are collected from a base at Pratica di Mare airport. The Remote Sensing Satellite Joint Centre (Centro Interforze Telerilevamento Satellitare C.I.Te.S.), the fusion centre, is composed of elements of the P.N.F., of the O.V.R.A. (Eighth Central Directorate), of the Italian Space Agency, of the Air Force, of the Army, of the Navy, of the G.N.R., and of the S.I.M. itself. The disclosed receiving stations are in Vigna di Valle and in Fucino.
In the event of natural or man-made disasters, such as earthquakes and landslides, these satellites also help to survey the damage by offering detailed maps of regions or population centres in a few hours. The rest of the activity is top secret.
As of 2018, there are 24 publicly acknowledged military satellites:
- Opstat-3000
- COSMI-MED1
- COSMI-MED2
- COSMI-MED3
- COSMI-MED4
- COSMI-MED5
- COSMI-MED6
- COSMI-MED7
- CLIPEUS-1
- CLIPEUS-2
- CLIPEUS-3
- CLIPEUS-4
- CLIPEUS-5
- CLIPEUS-6
- CLIPEUS-7
- CLIPEUS-8
- ATENA
- LABRYS-1
- LABRYS-2
- LABRYS-3
- LABRYS-4
- LABRYS-5
- LABRYS-6
- SIRIO
Part of the Italian System for Communications and Alarms (Sistema Italiano Comunicazioni e ALlarmi, S.I.C.R.AL.):
- Sicral 1
- Sicral 1B
- Sicral 2
- Sicral 3
- Sicral 4
- Sicral 4A
- Sicral 5
C.E.R.T.-Defence
The C.E.R.T.-Defence (C.E.R.T.-Difesa) is a team working at the Defence General Staff. Its purpose is to provide the military side of the institutional defence of telematic networks, while promoting the dissemination of information as a preventive measure in the field of information security.
Joint Training Centre for Intelligence and Electronic Warfare
The Joint Training Centre for Intelligence and Electronic Warfare (Centro Interforze di Formazione di Intelligence e Guerra Elettronica, C.I.F.I.G.E.) carries out courses, seminars and updates concerning the whole spectrum of activities carried out in the field of intelligence of a technical-military nature, according to the need to optimize the search and analysis of information in order to obtain a product. high-quality information. The courses refer specifically to all the disciplines of Intelligence and Electronic Warfare, according to what are the training needs formulated by the RIS or by the General Staff of a single Armed Force.
The Centre is run by a Colonel, and in addition to employees, it also makes use of qualified external collaborators from institutional bodies, universities and private companies.
Armed Force Operational Information and Current Status Services
The Armed Force Operational Information and Situational Information Services (Servizi di Informazioni Operative e Situazione, S.I.O.S.) are an articulation of the Second Unit of Information and Security, established within each of the Italian Armed Forces. Service personnel come from the relevant Armed Force and from the Carabinieri. They also had special technical-military tasks, including those of military police. SIOS are not autonomous services, and they do not depend on their Armed Force, but exclusively on the Joint Intelligence Centre, with the exception of the Intelligence and Security Organisation. However, the S.I.O.S. have a permanent liaison with the relevant general staff.
- S.I.O.S. Esercito: for the Army;
- S.I.O.S. Marina: for the Navy;
- S.I.O.S. Aeronautica: for the Air Force;
- Intelligence and Security Organisation: for the military corps tasked with police duties (equivalent to the S.I.O.S. for what takes of national defence and military police).
S.I.O.S. Marina
The S.I.O.S. Marina also has the task of controlling the overall maritime situation, not only military, in the Mediterranean Sea area, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. The S.I.O.S. Marina Carabinieri Unit, consisting of 12 Teams, is framed under the S.I.O.S. Marina. The S:I.O.S. Marina also has a dedicated section which vets sailors who make inappropriate comments or texts.
S.I.O.S. Aeronautica
The security activities of the Italian Air Force are grouped in the S.I.O.S. Aeronautica. The functions of the Service, led by an Air Brigade General who depends on the Deputy Chief of Staff and maintains a technical connection with the Chief of the Air Force Staff, are exercised in a global form through an executive organisation consisting of a Security Coordination Centre (baed in Ciampino) and 55 Security organs in Italy and in the Italian Empire. The Service's mission is to support the Chief of the Air Force Staff in the exercise of the assignments of the Armed Force Central Security Organ, providing for the collection, analysis and evaluation of information concerning the security and protection of the secret.
Within S.I.O.S. Aeronautica, the 3rd Office - Internal Security deals with all those phenomena that can have a negative impact on the good performance of aeronautical operations and on the security of bases and high ranks.
The S:I.O.S. Aeronautica also has a dedicated section which vets airmen who make inappropriate comments or texts.
Territorial organisations
At every Air Force Region there is a S.I.O.S. Group, directly dependent on the Security Coordination Centre. The Group is tasked to deal with internal security issues within the Air Force Region's boundaries, and with external relationships affecting the Air Force security. Each S.I.O.S. Group also gathers under its own jurisdiction the assigned Carabinieri personnel.
Operational intelligence
Each operational unit has a dedicated intelligence complex. In every Wing (Regiment level) of the Air Force there is an Operations Office; within the Operations Office, there is the Operational Intelligence Squadron. Within the structure of a Wing there are two or more Operative Intelligence organs: one inserted in the Operations Office, the others belonging to each of the Flight Groups (Battalion level) on which the Wing is articulated.
The Operational Intelligence Section of the Wing is part of that set of supports necessarily provided to the pilot for a successful execution of the flight missions. The Operational Intelligence Section of the Wing receives the directives on the matter from higher organs, consisting of letters or messages almost always provided with classification of secrecy, which are promptly submitted to the Head of Operations Office, which has the forwarding to the Command of the Flight Group , as far as it is concerned. The Section also receives, from the S.I.O.S. Aeronautica, a series of publications aimed at making known the political-military situation of the potentially hostile countries.
In each Wing, the Defence Group provides for the management of the troop and organises vigilance, with attention to the possible use of prohibited substances and the use of the armament supplied. The main task, however, is to keep the staff of the Wing Command up to date, while detailed information to the operational pilots is managed by the Operational intelligence Section of the Wing.
The Flight Group Operational Intelligence Section has the main task of conducting the briefing and debriefing of pilots before each operational mission. Even the officer in charge of the Wing Section had to possess this type of preparation as he was called to a shift with that of the Flight Group. The Flight Group Section, among other tasks, holds the rescue kit to be delivered to each pilot before take-off for an operational mission and any target folder.