Visit to the 61 ° Stormo, an international training center

(To Giusy Federici)
27/12/17

Every day, at the 61st Wing of the Galatina Air Force, it is training and operational. All the more reason, having been able to personally see what is special for us laymen and for them it is routine, thanks to the media tour that the Armed Force organized on 13 December was an added value to a reality that is in itself an Italian and international excellence. A special day since the morning, when a C130 moved from the base of the 46th Brigade in Pisa to bring the specialized press, not to mention the exquisite hospitality as well as the availability of all the staff, starting with the commander of the 61st Wing, with . Luigi Casali. The Air Force wanted to raise awareness of the school that trains military pilots in operational and advanced flight techniques and, above all, the new jewel that is the T346, the future compared to the 339CD that has formed generations of pilots.

The base of the 61st Wing of Galatina, with about 1.200 men, carries out an activity that, alone, represents almost 10% of the entire flight activity of the Air Force, as well as an internationally recognized excellence. Here you become a military fighter pilot and the process lasts about two years. The novelty, which is important and should be emphasized, is that personnel from other countries besides Italy also participate in the Lip (Lead-in to Fighter Training Instructor Pilot) course, phase 4 for military pilots: United States, Spain , France and Austria. The last two nations have already been present in Galatina for some years, based on the agreement of technical agreement stipulated between the two countries. For these pilots it is a change of aircraft. For the States and Spain it is a novelty and I am here because the training offer of the 61esimo Stormo for now is the world leader.

Other countries have sent pilots and students here: Holland, Poland, Singapore, Argentina, Greece and Kuwait. All have been selected to learn how to fly on very high performance aircraft. Who will complete the Lip, among other things, not only will be awarded the eagles turreted, but can teach other military pilots to fly on the T-346. In the very near future, in the context of the synergy that has been underway for years and increasingly close between countries not only in Europe, it will happen that foreign pilots will teach the art of top gun to Italian students, perhaps in the same base of Galatina. And this is another absolute novelty among the aeronautics of allied countries and friends.

Speaking of the T346, up to now, 61 qualified instructors have come out of the 15st Wing, of which 11 in service at the same base and 13 in training. For trainers, today there are 32 qualified (among which 16 Polish instructors who have followed only the instructor course and not the student course) and 11 in training.

Advanced operational flight techniques are those learned in Galatina and the T-346 is the aircraft used for the 4 phase.

For the uninitiated, there are 4 stages in which the training of a military pilot is divided. We had already dealt with the subject a couple of years ago up here Online Defense (v.articolo), by our colleague Andrea Troncone and our visit turns out to be an effective update of the last phase of the training process. There 4 phase is operational training, now largely carried out on the T346 and is propaedeutic to the aerotactic line, that of the fighters, ie Euro Fighter, Tornado, of F35.

The new aircraft speaks Italian, as it is made by Aircraft division by Leonardo. Twelve are the T346s in Galatina, by September next year they should reach 18. The instructors, including international ones, who arrive here are already qualified and, in parallel with the new aircraft, the 339 continues to be used: to date, there are 30 instructors on the 339 and 10 on 346. At the moment, among students and pilots in training to become instructors, we are talking about the overall phases 2, 3 and 4, there are 96 people of which 50 international. "This is a base that can give ten thousand hours of annual flight, we are around 80% of the maximum capacity", The commander Casali pointed out.

The ongoing course, which should finish in the middle of the 2018, includes about 180 "lessons" in flight and on the ground. Of these, 90 take place on simulators with various levels of difficulty, Its simulators (Integrated Training System), the integrated training system linked to the T346. The other 90s are of real flight. The system Its is sophisticated and complex, the one that allows the avionics to simulate various situations and not by chance, to train better, here on the basis has been specially set up the building Gbts (Ground Based Training System). The T346 simulator has Hotas commands (Hands on Throttle and Stick), various switches mounted on cloche and 5 different configurations of the commands according to the modalities that are set and on which one must study. It goes, therefore, from a level as easy as using a computer trivially to get to fly in the skies and make maneuvers that, even if simulated, give a very real idea of ​​the movement and the earth that runs. While looking at the pilot who trains, who moves reading the coordinates on the monitor, if you do not lean, you risk falling during a turn to almost 360gradi. It stands still, but it moves: it is the opportunity that offers the Ground based training Demonstrator Device, GDD, system developed by Finmeccanica - Alenia Aermacchi in the 2015 and that allows, in fact, to stay in a cockpit without moving but acquiring the same experience. All completed by the ETTS (Embedded tactical Training system), which is able to link and to show, on the multi-function screens of the real plane (Multi Function Display, MFD), what's around, from localized targets to threats, from hostile planes or friends to everything you need to create and observe any kind of scenario, obviously operational.

"If I have to do a simulation of two planes that are not seen, I send only one plane in flight and one in the simulator", Explained the commander. The data arrives in real time, instantly you realize what happens. It is also possible to see the audio and video recordings of what happened in the air, to recreate them simultaneously in real and virtual time and analyze everything. "Thanks to the avionics of the T346, the aircraft is also carried within the operational departments, which require it"Added Casali. At least a couple of times a year, the pilots go to Grosseto, to fly with T346 and Euro Fighter, where the latter is seen in the virtual world of the first. Because an account is the scenario under simulation, an account in flight, so everything must be as realistic as possible.

We continue to speak generically of 4 phase, but this advanced training system is a prerequisite for fifth generation aircraft.

Another thing to stress, is that "expenses did not increase, but it remained very high lor standard ", Casali stressed with pride and this is also another added value of our Air Force and the 61esimo Stormo, in an advanced training system that, for now, is unique in the world.

We speak of people who go on a mission, which is operational, so it is understood why they do not give baptismal names but only nationality. The Austrian pilot we met on the base has 38 years. "I was already an instructor, I replied to an Austrian Air Force call requesting requirements and I arrived in Galatina in the 2011". It's here from 6 years. He first flew with the 339, now with the 346. "It is a noticeable difference, another world".

The 36-year-old Spanish driver is also an instructor. He's here recently, thanks to an interchange.

Wyatt comes from the United States, has no trouble telling the name and where it comes from. With him we also talked about Memphis and the museum dedicated to Elvis Presley, of blues and Mississippi, of his famous namesake Wyatt Earp. "I'm doing the pilot course. Here the level is exceptional and I hope to bring something to my country. Just the thought excites me. And the people are wonderful too, I felt at home as soon as I arrived".

For all of them, as for the others, it is important not only to learn but also to deal with other mentalities that, although European, are different. We grow up because we learn to look at things from different perspectives.

Even for the commander Luigi Casali, confronting different experiences and mentalities is an increase, just as the territory hosting the base of the 61esimo Stormo has its importance. "We are proud to welcome riders from different realities from ours, this allows us to take advantage of common experiences, and to be able to have continuous exchanges and therefore to be able to grow. In addition, it is also a continuous update on the vehicle used, the aircraft. I must say that the place where the base is located is also important: here we are not tolerated, here we are welcomed and the difference between the two conditions is considerable. We are considered an added value. The people of this area realize the importance of this base, as well as being hospitable by its nature. It is also thanks to this type of welcome that we are growing so much".

(photo: Aeronautica Militare)