Royal Air Force, a delegation visits the Galatina flight school

(To air Force)
03/02/20

On Tuesday 28 January a delegation from the Royal Air Force (RAF) visited the 61 ° Stormo, the international flight school based on the military airport of Galatina / Lecce. The activity was aimed at evaluating and knowing the training potential developed by the Air Force with particular reference to the integrated training system preparatory to the use of pilots on 5th generation aircraft.

The guests were welcomed by Colonel Alberto Surace, commander of the 61st Wing, who presented, during a briefing, the mission and vision of the Department, the phases through which the flight training and the training offer are developed. of the school, focusing on the phase-in of the new trainer aircraft, the T345 - High Efficiency Trainer, which will gradually replace the MB339 in phases 2 and 3 of the flight training.

Representing the Bari Air Force School Command, on which the Stormo depends, the Air Brigadier General Luigi Casali then illustrated the International Flight Training School (IFTS), the result of an agreement signed between Aeronautica Militare and Leonardo Company for the enhancement of the Italian training offer, a project born from the desire to systematize two national excellences to create synergy for the benefit of the entire country system: the expertise of the Arma Azzurra in training skills and the resources of the main reality Italian industrialist in the security and defense sector.

The one used by the Italian Air Force for advanced flight training is a state-of-the-art system, however completely made in Italy, which has unique technological requirements on the international scene.

Afterwards, the delegation visited the facilities dedicated to the last phase of the training of pilots destined for the "fighter lines", the one that takes place on the T-346A aircraft. Within the "Ground Based Training System" (GBTS), the building that houses the ground compartment of the system, the simulators used to train future "fighters" pilots, whose Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC ), are not only able to virtually generate extremely complex operating environments, but allow the connection to the network of real aircraft by carrying out joint missions. These abilities were tested during the visit to the most advanced simulator, the Full Mission Simulator, in whose cockpit the guests had the opportunity to observe an aircraft in real flight, piloted by an instructor of the 61 ° Stormo, with one of the British officers themselves. The experience also allowed guests to test the amazing performances of the phase IV trainer.