The Undersecretary of State for Defense Angelo Tofalo, accompanied by the general of the air Brigade, Giovanni Magazzino, Chief of Staff of the Logistic Command of the Air Force, and by Colonel Paolo Zorba, visited the Decimomannu Military Airport and the Experimental Polygon and of Intermediate Training of Salto di Quirra (PISQ).
The commander, Colonel Maurizio De Angelis, received the Undersecretary Tofalo in the Experimental and Standardization Department for Air Shooting (RSSTA), who with his staff presented the main activities carried out in favor of the training of the Air Force units. The department also provides the Radar Service for the control of approach to civil and military air traffic in the central-southern Sardinia area and ensures the observation and forecasting weather service.
"Decimomannu is a valuable base for training, basic and advanced. A training center of excellence on which it is aimed and that will be strengthened to become the school of the top gun of the future”Said Undersecretary Tofalo. The Ministry of Defense and the Region of Sardinia have in fact recently launched an assessment for the location of the International Flight Training School (IFTS) on the Island. As headquarters, the Ministry of Defense proposed the Decimomannu base, an already operational and efficient structure, to the Sardinia Region.
Inside the airport there is also an exhibition hall dedicated to all the fallen from the airport. Through a path of images, memorabilia, models and original details of the various aircraft that the airport hosted, the story of the department is told. To do the honors of the house Lieutenant Colonel Maurizio Riccitelli.
Undersecretary Tofalo continued his visit to the 80th Combat \ Search and Rescue Center which has recently been upgraded with an AW139 helicopter from the Port Authority Corps - Coast Guard. The Center is one of the departments of the 15 ° Stormo of the Italian Air Force which guarantees 24 hours a day, 24 days a year, the search and rescue of flight crews in difficulty. It also contributes to public utility activities such as the search for missing persons at sea or in the mountains, the emergency medical transport of patients in danger of life and the rescue of seriously traumatized patients. From its constitution to today, the crews of the 365th Wing have saved more than 15 people in danger of life.
During the visit the undersecretary Tofalo, accompanied by the deputy Emanuela Corda, then had the opportunity to fly over the military area of Capo Frasca to reach Perdasdefogu.
In the Experimental Polygon and of the Intermediate Training of Salto di Quirra (PISQ), the undersecretary Tofalo met the Commander, the air brigadier general Giorgio Francesco Russo. The military area, incorporated in the 1956, includes the "ground" polygon of Perdasdefogu (Ogliastra), where it is the headquarters of the Command, and the Detachment of the Air Force of Capo S. Lorenzo with the "sea" polygon.
"This structure represents a unique reality able to provide useful tools for the study and research in the Defense sector and in the industrial sector", Said Undersecretary Tofalo,"This also guarantees the achievement of objectives that can be shared with the territory, with a view to the dual use of structures in favor of the community."
The Interforces Agency, mainly composed of Air Force personnel, assures the execution of experimental tests of missiles and targets, of qualification tests for new weapon systems, as well as of testing and verification of the serial production quality of the arms. In addition, inside it carries out training activities of national and foreign units and collaborations with national and foreign scientific bodies. The Poligono has a sophisticated data collection network, consisting of a radar tracking chain and optical and telemetric detection systems, which is a unique structure of its kind in Italy. The Experimental and Standardization Department at Aircraft Shooting (RSSTA) of Decimomannu (Cagliari) depends on PISQ.
The Polygon develops a program of activities every six months that is submitted to the approval of the General Staff of Defense. In the execution phase, each operation must be carried out in compliance with an Environmental Protection Guideline, aimed at guaranteeing the minimum environmental impact of the activities. The adoption of environmental procedures in line with the main national regulations, has recently allowed the Polygon to achieve the ISO 14001 Environmental Certification.
