Remotely Piloted Aircraft: 1st Experimental Course for Mini/Micro Class APR Operators Concluded

(To air Force)
16/10/24

The 41st “Experimental” course for the Italian Army took place in Sora (Frosinone) in recent weeks, at the 11st IMINT regiment “Cordenons”, and ended on Friday 1 October. APR Operators Basic/Advanced of the mini/Micro (m/M) class conducted synergistically by instructors from the Air Force APR centre of excellence and by personnel from the Italian Army.

The course, designed by expert staff from the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Centre of Excellence in Amendola (FG), is intended for training in the specific APR sector of military operators in the Defence sector and is divided into two modules, basic e know more, with a total duration of 5 weeks (in a combined in-person and remote mode). The aim is to provide new operators with the notions and practical skills for effective planning and conduct of military activities with remotely piloted aircraft, respectively in visual line of sight (VLOS) and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS), in line with civil and military sector regulations.

The new training path represents the culmination of work that led to the revision of the syllabus for the training of APR operators of the m/M class necessary to optimize the timing for achieving professional qualifications, considering the growing need for capacity in the APRM sector that modern operational scenarios require of the national Armed Forces.

The Center of Excellence for Remotely Piloted Aircraft in Amendola (FG) is an Air Force body with an inter-force connotation under the 3rd department of the SMA. A single point of reference in the inter-force field for the APR subject, it is composed of experts in the sector and extends its activities from basic and advanced training for the piloting of APR systems and the use of their sensors, to the support aimed at promoting the inter-force development of the sector through the contribution to the conduct of experiments, development of procedures and validation of concepts connected to their use, thus ensuring training and procedural standardization to guarantee maximum interoperability both at inter-force and inter-agency level.