Tuesday 26 July, as part of a technical test trip aboard PPA2 - Nave Francesco Morosini, the ceremony for the delivery of the certificates of qualification to conduct the Naval Cockpit was held in favor of eight naval officers of the New Naval Construction Equipment Center and designated to embark on the naval unit, second Multipurpose Offshore Patrol (PPA), now close to entering the naval team.
The ceremony, which was attended by the director of NAVARM (admiral chief inspector Massimo Guma), the director of OCCAR (admiral chief inspector Matteo Bisceglia), the commander of MARINALLES (vessel captain Fabrizio Orengo) on which the crews of the PPAs depend construction, as well as the training staff of the Leonardo and Fincantieri NexTech companies, followed up the training and use phase of the naval cockpit, a real novelty element of the PPA-type units, which has already begun with the delivery to the Navy of Nave Thaon of Revel, class leader, last March.
Il naval cockpit is an advanced control system which, following the aeronautical layout criteria, allows to manage in an integrated way the operations related both to the ship's conduct and to the management and use of the combat system, in the face of a very small number of operators, e copilot, which have respectively incorporated the figures ofguard officer on the bridge and principal warfare officer.
Ship Francesco Morosini, now close to delivery, therefore sees the completion of a long training course in favor of its own ship officers, called to deal with the new and advanced technology that characterizes these naval units and with the new role of "naval pilot", through modalities of significantly different management and procedures compared to the consolidated reality of naval units legacy.
The course, carried out thanks to the specialized support of Leonardo and Fincantieri NexTech, was developed over a three-week period, through theoretical and practical lessons aimed at acquiring the necessary notions for the management of both the platform and the use of sensors and systems weapon. The evolution introduced by the naval cockpit it also required a progressively increasing commitment which, more generally, began and was consolidated even during the numerous technical tests of testing at sea to which the system was subjected.
The innovative technologies of the Naval Cockpit, including the handwheel instead of the rudder, the pedestal for platform management and Primary Sailing Display (PSD) - support element in which navigation data and tactical data are managed within a single 3D representation of the operating environment - are just some of the most representative and iconic elements of a new naval reality that aims to integrate and optimizing innovative technology and an increasingly specialized human factor, with a view to providing the Navy with a flexible, technologically advanced tool ready to operate within the broader needs of the maritime dimension.
