On Monday 27 June two T-346As and two FT-339Cs of the 61 ° Stormo of Galatina (LE) carried out a refueling mission in flight (Air to Air Refueling, AAR) from a KC-767A aircraft of the 14 ° Wing of Pratica di Mare.
For the T-346 supplied to the Salento Flight School it was the first ever AAR mission.
For the 339 aircraft, however, it was the first refueling carried out by the tanker KC-767A.
The sortie very closely followed a classic operating profile: after a medium-level transit to the supply area (Ponza island), the approach, reunification and refueling procedures were started; the flight then continued simulating the mission of operational assets.
The activity, which involved the pilots of the 212 ° Flight Group of the 61 ° Stormo, was possible thanks to the support of the refueling arrangements in flight and to the coordination of the Air Operations Command (COA) of Poggio Renatico.
It was a choral and shared effort that allowed to resume the training of the visitors in a very demanding flight profile.
Refueling with the T-346, given its characteristics very similar to the most complex fighter aircraft, has proved to be solid and particularly effective from a training point of view.
The 212 ° is the Group that provides advanced training for pilots assigned to aerotactic lines.
The course is called Lead-In to Fighter Training - LIFT with a duration of about eight months during which the visitors learn the basic elements of the operation of hunting aircraft, performing the typical profiles of ground attack and flight missions. air-to-air combat.
In addition to in-flight missions, pilots follow an intense theoretical training program and various ground courses, including a basic "intelligence" course.
The aircraft used for the LIFT course are the FT339C and, since last August, the brand new T-346A.
