30.000 flight hours reached for KC-767A aircraft

(To air Force)
16/07/20

The 14th Wing "Sergio Sartoff", with the 767th Group KC-8A aircraft, reached the important milestone of 30.000 flight hours.

The prestigious goal was achieved in a very particular period, as the KC-767A aircraft was one of the most used assets to counter the COVID-19 emergency, carrying out, on February 2nd, the first repatriation flight of our compatriots from Wuhan (China). Since that day it has been used constantly carrying out about 400 flight hours for the repatriation of our compatriots from various parts of the world, also in bio-containment and for the transport of medical teams and about 270.000 kg of medical material of which over 5 million of masks.

To underline the importance of the milestone reached, the president of Boeing Italy, dr. Antonio De Palmas, wanted to pay homage to the department by delivering, in the presence of the commander of the Support and Special Forces Command, gen. by Achille Cazzaniga, a commemorative plaque to the commander of the 14th Wing, col. Giuseppe Addesa.

"The milestone of 30.000 flight hours, which equates to almost three and a half years in the skies, makes us proud of the work done so far and of the contribution we have been able to make to the operational needs of the Air Force", said Antonio De Palmas, president of Boeing Italy.

"The Tanker program - continued De Palmas - represents a lot for Boeing: first of all our solid partnership with the Air Force, but also an important part of Boeing's presence in Italy, which installed the Team here in Pratica di Mare over ten years ago. A partnership that was strengthened even more during the Covid emergency, where our team worked every day in person alongside the Air Force, supporting its operations in such a critical phase for our country. The human element and the ability to meet intelligently and with a collaborative spirit certainly made the difference and allowed us to reach the brilliant goal we celebrate today. Now we want to raise the bar even further, aiming to increase the efficiency of the fleet and achieve new and ambitious results. The concept of PBL (Performance-Based Logistics), entirely based on performance, that Boeing offers to the Air Force is a type of avant-garde approach that we see clearly as the future model of logistic support in Italy ".

An important milestone emphasized also by the air division general Achille Cazzaniga. "The 30.000 flight hours of the KC-767 represent an important milestone, but which should be considered not only as the achievement of a mere statistical data, but taking into due consideration what lies behind it, with reference to the exceptional synergy achieved by the staff of flight and technical-maintenance of the 14th Wing and by Boeing staff who made this brief but significant event possible today " - General Cazzaniga reiterated in his speech - "30.000 flight hours which have made it possible to ensure numerous and important commitments at national and international level, to transport personnel, materials, humanitarian aid where required. Operation, flexibility of use and 'global' range of action guaranteed by the peculiar supply capacity in flight which allows the armed force's aerotactic aircraft to increase autonomy and at the same time KC-767 to minimize transport times, managing to cover long distances without having to make technical calls. "

The commander of the Air Force Support and Special Forces also pointed out how "... the timeliness guaranteed by this aircraft allows the Armed Force to be always ready to serve the country effectively, as recently occurred, during the emergency due to Covid-19: the ability to optimize the time factor was decisive and essential to save lives with the transport of patients in bio-containment and sanitary materials from abroad to Italy ".

The 8th Flight Group called "The Knights", which constitutes one of the two flight groups within the 14th Wing, has 4 Boeing KC-767A aircraft, which in addition to being used in flight refueling, thanks to the multi-role configuration , support operational and training activities with global projection capacity, carrying out considerable cargo and especially passenger transport activities at very fast rhythms, throughout the year without interruption, to and from the various operating theaters where the Italian military are busy.

Besides these peculiarities of strategic transport and tanker, the Stormo acquired the additional capacity of high bio-containment transport with the first intervention, in November 2014 in favor of the Italian doctor of the NGO Emergency, positive result for the Ebola virus in Sierra Leone .

The success of the operations conducted in recent years, combined with the almost total exclusivity of the Italian equipment on the international scene, has made the Air Force a leader in the air transport sector in high bio-containment.

The 14 ° Stormo is based at the Military Airport of Pratica di Mare and depends on the air team command through the Support and Special Forces Command. It conducts missions in the field of in-flight refueling, radio measurements, transport and training with the KC-767A aircraft (whose Operational Control is delegated to the European Air Transport Command - EATC of Eindhoven), P-180 Avanti, and in the space surveillance sector aircraft with the G-550 CAEW aircraft in compliance with the plans and directives received from the Air Squad Command, the High Command of the Air Force which is responsible for the training, preparation and use of the assets and personnel that operate at the operational Departments throughout the national territory.