The International Flight Training School (IFTS) continues to welcome new visitors: two German pilots of the German Air Force have recently started, in fact, at the 61 ° Stormo di Galatina (Lecce), the advanced flight training phase, the so-called Phase IV - Lead-In to Fighter Training - as part of an agreement signed by the Air Force General Alberto Rosso, Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and by Maj. Gen. Klement, Commander of the Flying Units of the German Air Force.
The training of German pilots is added to that - already underway since June always at the IFTS - of Qatar Emiri Air Force pilots who have already completed the synthetic training modules on both the Partial Task Trainer (PTT) and the Full Mission Simulator (FMS) - the ultra-technological simulators integrated into the training system connected to the T-346A aircraft - and have already started the in-flight instructional part.
The Italian-German agreement for advanced flight training provides for the possibility of extending the collaboration to Phase III in the future, preparatory to obtaining the Military Pilot's License.
The International Flight Training School was born from the strategic collaboration between the Italian Air Force and Leonardo for the construction of an advanced flight training center which is the international reference for the training of military pilots starting from Phase IV (Advanced / Lead-In to Fighter Training) and provides for an industrial partnership between Leonardo and CAE for the maintenance / support of the aircraft fleet and simulators.
It is a virtuous example of collaboration and synergy for the country system capable of satisfying the growing demand of partner countries for the training of their pilots. The IFTS project has brought together two national excellences: the expertise and tradition of the Arma Azzurra and Leonardo's skills in the training sector.
The decision of the German Air Force, after that of Qatar, to send its pilots to train in Italy at the IFTS, concretely testifies to the appreciation for the Italian training system and for the potential of this ambitious international project.
A new IFTS campus at the Decimomannu Air Force Base in Sardinia is under construction, a real flight academy capable of hosting students, technical staff as well as recreational areas, canteen, sports facilities, logistic-maintenance infrastructures that they will have to manage the operations of the fleet of 22 M-346 aircraft (called T-346A by the Italian Air Force). An entire building will be dedicated to the Ground Based Training System (GBTS) to house the training rooms and the installation of a modern training system based on the latest generation of simulation systems.
