In a context of already consolidated collaboration between the Air Force and ENAV (National Flight Assistance Agency), last 16 and 17 January an AM delegation, composed of CSA personnel (air team command) and by RACSA personnel (air space control training department), went to visit the training center of ENAV, located in Forlì and directed by manager Fabio Olivetti.
The meeting, aimed at strengthening dialogue and cooperation between AM and ENAV in the personnel training sector air traffic controller e meteorologist, also constituted a moment of comparison between two training centers of excellence in their respective fields, military and civil. In fact, European regulations require high quality standards for both, proven by the certification issued by ENAC (National Civil Aviation Authority).
In welcoming the military delegation, the ENAV "operational and technical training" (OTT) manager Alberto Valentini underlined the importance of this collaboration and above all the need to strengthen the relationships between the course managers and the instructor staff of the two centers.
The head of the airspace office of the General Staff of the air team command with the. Daniele Faustini, in thanking the OTT manager and the director of training center, expressed great satisfaction with this further moment of discussion in the training sector, "comparison - he said - functional to outline further forms of collaboration with the common intention of creating profitable forms of synergy between the two organizations".
Following the commander of the RACSA col. Emidio Salmè highlighted the areas of interest in which to develop a deeper synergy: “Sharing and alignment of training programs are, in my opinion, two fundamental elements, as I believe is the comparison of teaching methodologies and best practices connected to ATC simulation activities. Finally, I believe that for both parties, it represents a great opportunity for professional and human growth – concluded the col. Salmè – both the exchange of instructors between the two schools, and the participation of ENAV personnel in the courses provided by RACSA and vice versa".
The meeting concluded with a seminar held by the manager “ATM System Evolution and Strategic Services Planning” by ENAV Giorgio Berti on FRAIT (Free Route Air Space Italy) and on the upcoming changes relating to the regulation of this area, which will have a considerable impact on national and European air transport and on the provision of ATS services.
FRAIT, implemented by ENAV in 2016, consists of a flight planning and management methodology that uses a navigation system no longer based on the network of ATS routes, the so-called "highways of the sky", but on points that allow a route direct and shorter, from a certain level upwards, which allows savings in terms of fuel, reductions in CO2 emissions and reduction in costs, whilst maintaining safety levels unchanged.
RACSA is the training body of the Air Force which has the task of training the official, non-commissioned and graduated personnel of all the Armed Forces, including foreign ones, in the sectors of Integrated Missile Air Defence, Air Traffic and Meteorology, as well as providing training support to other bodies external to the Ministry of Defence, such as the Department of Civil Protection and the national fire brigade. Located on the Pratica di Mare Military Airport (RM), the department depends on the aerospace control brigade of the aerospace operations command of Poggio Renatico (FE).
Il air team command of the Air Force is one of the three top commands of the Armed Forces. It is responsible for training, preparing, preparing and exercising the command and control of high quality Forces, in order to maintain high operational readiness and related logistical autonomy, necessary to achieve the objectives defined by the Armed Forces. The main purpose is to guarantee the security of the national airspace, preparing and using the men and means available, to project and employ them in an agile, adaptive and effective way with the aim of deploying aerospace power in air operations, national and international, at joint, inter-agency and multinational levels.
