Direct proof of use
Official Italian Air Force reporting directly documents AMX use in Afghanistan. In July 2010, the service reported an AM-X ACOL aircraft rotation at Herat and said Task Group Black Cats had arrived there the previous November after replacing Tornado aircraft at Mazar-e Sharif.
The same 2010 account said the outgoing Black Cats detachment had flown more than 290 hours in 120 sorties in just under two months, divided between close air support for troops in operations and reconnaissance for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance needs. It also identified the RecceLite pod as the AM-X reconnaissance system used from medium and high altitude by day and night.
Sources: Italian Air Force AMX Turnover Afghanistan
Dated combat and reconnaissance record
In August 2012, during Operation Shrimps Net in Farah Province, Task Group Black Cats AMX aircraft flew 16 tactical-air-reconnaissance and close-air-support missions, totaling about 45 flight hours. Italian Air Force reporting said those missions supported Afghan security forces and Italian task forces and were intended to protect allied and Afghan ground forces.
Two official strike reports place AMX aircraft in precision attack roles against insurgent radio communications equipment. On December 7, 2012, the Italian Air Force said AMX aircraft from Herat struck two radio-communications devices in Bakwa district after Black Cats imagery analysts identified the systems. On March 4, 2013, it reported that two AMX aircraft used laser-guided bombs against two radio antennas in Gulistan district, after the targets were identified through prior RecceLite reconnaissance.
On April 30, 2013, another Italian Air Force report said a pair of AMX aircraft from Task Group Black Cats destroyed one of three radio repeaters in Farah Province with GPS-guided munitions while Predator imagery and ground operators monitored the area.
Sources: Italian Air Force Shrimps Net, Italian Air Force Bakwa Antennas, Italian Air Force Gulistan Antennas, Italian Air Force Farah Communications
Operational role
The sourced record places the AMX on the United States, NATO, and Afghan government side of the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The documented operator was the Italian Air Force's Task Group Black Cats, operating under the Joint Air Task Force at Herat and assigned to NATO's operational command for Afghanistan.
The AMX role combined reconnaissance, ISR, close air support, and precision attack. Italian Air Force reporting in May 2013 said AMX aircraft had flown more than 2,400 operational sorties since first employment in the theater, split between tactical reconnaissance and close air support for coalition and Afghan forces. The same report said AMX missions had recorded more than 6,300 targets and photographed several thousand kilometers of routes.
A 2014 Istituto Affari Internazionali study independently summarizes the same Afghanistan deployment pattern: AMX aircraft replaced Tornados at Herat in November 2009 for ISR work, later took part in Shrimps Net and Ballpark, and by May 2013 had flown more than 2,400 sorties in day and night operations.
Sources: Italian Air Force AMX 7000 Hours, IAI Italian Fighter Aircraft Study, Italian Air Force Ballpark
