The people who responded above me are correct.
Thanks for giving me an idea for a house rule though…
The UK has Egypt with an air base and 3 fighters. If Italy moves a warship into sz 98 (adjacent ), aND then GermanyGermanys following turn they move transports into the zone for an assault, can the fighters scramble even though I own the sz?
Absolutely. And the Italians cannot join in, as the Germans are the aggressors.
Owning the SZ is not relevant.
wittmann is right, the Italians can’t participate in the German attack so they are bystanders. By rule the German transport should endure one round of combat, then it can retreat if still alive (unless you are playing a friendly game and allow the German player to rethink his move based on the new info).