On Monday 30 October, at the 72nd wing of Frosinone, the pilot licenses were awarded to 4 frequenters of the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) who, after a training course, completed the piloting course at the flight schools of the 'Air Force of the 72nd wing of Frosinone and of MultiCrew crew training center of Pratica di Mare. In addition to the patentees, 5 RSAF engineers who completed their training course at the Pozzuoli Air Force Academy also took part in the ceremony.
The ceremony, organized by the school command of the AM/3rd air region of Bari (which controls the three flight departments), was attended by the commander of the AM/3rd schools, air team general, Silvano Frigerio, Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) Air Force Academy Commander Maj. gen. Hazim Bin Gheshiyan, the vice president of the province of Frosinone Valentina Cambone and the mayor of Frosinone, Riccardo Mastrangeli. The newly certified pilots proudly wore, before the eyes of their family and friends, the coveted symbols that testify to the important goal achieved.
The certification ceremony brings with it an intense and important meaning also underlined by the words addressed to the boys by the commander of the 72nd wing, Colonel Alessandro Fiorini: “Serving your country is a great responsibility, as it has been for us from the moment you began your training in Italy. We have provided you with the best knowledge and expertise we could, not only in professional skills, but also in well-being, morale and attitude.". The same commander also thanked the authorities who attended who, with their presence, confirmed the closeness of the institutions and local communities to the wing and its personnel.
General Silvano Frigerio also complimented the newly certified and in his speech underlined that: “Relationships with the Royal Saudi Air Force began a long time ago, when in 1933 we trained the first Saudi pilot in Italy. Today our cooperation is based on a legacy of friendship, to create new generations of pilots and engineers who can help strengthen this collaboration and promote peace.".
In accordance with the Technical Agreement, signed between the Air Force and the RSAF Royal Saudi Air Force, in 2022 Saudi student pilots began the process to obtain the "helicopter line" military pilot license (MPLHT - Military Pilot License Helicopter Track) at the 72nd wing; and in 2021 at the CAE MultiCrew to obtain the "conventional line" military pilot's license (MPL MP-ME - Military Pilot License Multi Pilot-Multi Engine).
The young pilots of the Royal Saudi Air Force completed a long period of training in Italy, at the Aviation English Training Center in Loreto, subsequently at the 70th wing of Latina for the Airplane Pilot's License (BPA) and phase II – Primary Pilot Training (aimed at identifying the lines on which fighters, RPA remote piloting, helicopters, transport will be employed) at the 61st wing. After phase II, the pilots "fit for support" and therefore suitable for the helicopter or transport lines, are directed respectively to the 72nd wing of Frosinone where phase 3A and 3B take place, respectively on the TH500B and UH-139 helicopters; or at the CAE MultiCrew in Pratica di Mare where Phase III Transport is carried out both with the P180 Avanti aircraft and with the AL-SIM static flight simulator, following the principles of CRM (Crew Resource Management), TEM (Threat and Error Management) and those of Leadership applied to flight, also through the conduct of MCC (Multi Crew Cooperation/Coordination) courses.
The 72nd wing of Frosinone, depends on the command of the schools of the Air Force/3rd air region, the only school in the rotary wing sector in Italy, it is the department that trains the helicopter pilots of the Air Force, of the other Armed Forces and state armed forces, as well as foreign visitors. The inter-force and inter-agency synergy, developed in the field of training at the Frosinone Helicopter School, is part of the perspective of continuous improvement of training and contextual optimization of resources.
The CAE MultiCrew, dependent on the schools command of the AM/3rd air region based in Bari, provides the advanced training of the student pilots of the Air Force destined for the support lines, where they will carry out delicate missions of combat, service and support. Furthermore, the School trains pilots of other Armed Forces or state armed bodies according to the most modern international dictates of the "MultiCrew" concept for fixed-wing aircraft.
The Air Force Academy is under the command of the Air Force/3rd Air Region Schools. It is a military institute of higher education of a university nature which has the task of providing for the recruitment and training of young people who aspire to become officers of the Air Force. By attending the regular courses of the Academy you can become a second lieutenant in permanent active service of the Air Force, in the normal role of navigators (pilots) and in the normal role of the weapons, of the aeronautical engineering, of the aeronautical commissary corps and of the aeronautical medical corps. Courses are also held at the Institute for officer students (pilots and navigators of complement and fixed station) and directly appointed second lieutenants (both of the normal role and of the special role); finally, in study plan of the Academy, specialized aeronautical courses are planned for foreign personnel and other Armed Forces.
