From the 9 to the September 21, the Experimental Flight Unit (RSV), jointly with company personnel AgustaWestland, as part of the HH-101A CSAR NATO helicopter type certification process, successfully completed the experimental test campaign to achieve the technical capacity of Air to Air Refuelling (AAR) of the HH-101A helicopter from the tanker aircraft KC-130J.
Following the consolidated incremental approach at calculated risk, Build-Up Approach, which characterizes the modus operandi of the RSV, the first part of the evaluation was performed on the ground. Only after collecting the necessary evidence to continue the activity in safety, the subsequent tests were conducted in flight. Contacts between the HH-101A receiver helicopter and the refueling baskets of the KC-130J tanker aircraft, both dry is law, were carried out first in daylight conditions and then in night conditions, with and without the aid of Night Vision Devices (NVDS).
Thanks to the good performance and flight quality of the helicopter receiver, together with the high level of professionalism in the field of experimentation of personnel all involved in the test campaign, the RSV was thus able to obtain an extraordinary record, both in terms of experimentation techniques and operational value. The HH-101A CSAR is in fact the first European production helicopter to successfully perform in-flight refueling activities at night with the help of NVDs. This ability will therefore allow an even more flexible and continuous use of the weapon system in the operating environment, increasing its peculiar projectability characteristics.
The significant milestone was also achieved thanks to the fundamental commitment made by pilots, engineers and technical experimenters of the RSV, together with the logistic support of the 6 ° Helicopter Maintenance Department (6 ° RME) and the 14 ° flock of Pratica di Mare.
