The second phase of the training mission began yesterday for the Cavour aircraft carrier Open Sea 2018, which is the main exercise carried out by the Navy which involves more than 40 units coming from 8 different countries, with the sole purpose of training in a scenario as realistic as possible.
The missile destroyer was already present off the port of Civitavecchia Caio Duilio and the two FREMMs Virginio Fasan e Luigi Rizzo, when we were boarded aboard the flagship of the Italian fleet. The opportunity granted by the Navy allowed to attend the first training phase directly on board the Cavour. Once moored, the aircraft carrier took off, rejoining the other three ships present in the area which left the port of La Spezia during the night.
During this first part of navigation in the presence of the commander in chief of the naval team, team admiral Donato Marzano, the head of the training department of CINCNAV (Command in Head of the Naval Squadron ed), captain of vessel Milazzo, explained what is the Open Sea exercise.
"It will be based on a free scenario in which there will be a continuous multidimensional threat, so as to be able to fully test the command abilities of the naval unit commanders and the staff on board".
An important exercise also, therefore, to test the skills of the various commanders, but also for Admiral De Carolis who, as pointed out by Milazzo, in the 2019 will be, after the assignment to COMITMARFOR (Italian Command of the Maritime Forces), the Maritime Component Commander of the NATO rapid reaction forces.
The scenario chosen for the exercise is, in some ways, comparable to the situation on the Korean peninsula, with Sicily divided into two imaginary states and with Italy ready to intervene in support of a part and a fourth state that intervenes as an opponent of the 'Italy. Everything will be done in the lower Tyrrhenian and in the central Mediterranean, off the coast of Sicily.
Inside the Cavour for Admiral Marzano it will be possible to carry out his task as commander of the Italian naval team in the same way as he did in the Santa Rosa barracks. In fact, in the carrier there is an area set up for total and real-time control of Italian ships engaged in navigation, but not only because thanks to SMART software it is possible to control every ship that sails in every part of the world. A system similar to 24 Flight Radar for civil aviation, but with the difference that SMART can report any anomalies.
But this is not seen during a mission or during staff training, unlike the flight operations performed with AV-8B Harrier II Plus. The most exciting part, at least for the writer, has undoubtedly been listening closely and live the sound of the Rolls Royce engine of theHarrier, as well as seeing the take-off and deployment operations from a privileged position, such as the control panel of the Cavour. Three Harrier in flight, two after a short flight have returned to the Cavour while the other is removed to simulate a multiple attack on the aircraft carrier, so as to be able to test its active defense capabilities.
Obviously, in view of the "warm" phases of the Open Sea, the crew on board also had to face a simulated fire, caused by the previous attack, inside a room on board. An unforeseen, which in ship is comparable to embarking water on board. The response was quick and precise, thus allowing the quick conclusion of the pre-training phase of the crew.
After this last exercise of the day, the thought goes to the fact that at the end of the year the Cavour will have to be modernized, to allow the boarding of the F-35. A work, as pointed out by Marzano that: "It seems trivial but it is not, this is because the entire bridge will be modified to create areas of high security where only authorized personnel can enter. Also the soundproofing of the bridge and the premises will have to be reinforced, which will also involve changes to the island". These works will be carried out at the Taranto military arsenal, a novelty for the Cavour that for the first time will cross the bridge of San Francesco di Paola (the revolving bridge) to go from the Great Sea to the Little Sea. A complicated maneuver and made more difficult by the 7-8 meters per side that the Cavour will have space in crossing the channel. For this: "We are already working with the pilots and with the logistics organization of Taranto to create a sort of guiding thread in the channel, so the ship should have no problem to cross it", Assured Marzano.
The works will keep out of the navigation the Cavour for almost two years, during which the flagship tasks will pass, or rather return to the Garibaldi, on which the necessary work is being carried out to allow us to embark again Harrier on board. At the end of the modernization works of the Cavour, the aircraft carrier will make a course for the United States to receive the final qualification to the F-35.
The pilots? They have already started training in the simulator, waiting for other F-35 to be delivered to the Grottaglie base (currently only one has arrived).
To conclude his speech, the commander of the Italian naval team emphasized the importance of the Open Sea, especially because military ships must always be operational and able to open fire against possible threats. A fortiori with the return in eye of the submarine threat within the Mediterranean.
A clear vision of Marzano for which: "What seemed like a risk exceeded came back strongly to the attention". The training, however, will not only be anti-submarine, but will take into consideration every possible threat, also because, concluded Marzano: "Our task is to be ready to defend national interests and to do so even with the use of force".
With the end of the declarations of Admiral Marzano, the short experience on board the aircraft carrier also ended Cavour, very complicated to express in words for the strong charge of emotions that transmits see this "floating airport" in action. Waiting to see you again, in a few years, after the modernization works on board the F-35 that in the meantime will arrive in Italy.
(photo of the author)
