Today, with the in-flight examination of warrent officer 1 Mark Cassar, the training program signed on March 17th between the commander of the Armed Forces of Malta, brig. Jeffery Curmi, and the commander of the MICCD, col. Luca Mariz. The program is part of the remodeling plan of the Military Mission in Malta which will see in the next two months the gradual and progressive transit of the Search and Rescue Service (SAR) from the SAR Section of the Military Air Force to the Maltese Armed Forces (AFM). The Military Air Force provided seamless SAR service from July 1982, first on AB204 and then on AB212 with mixed Italian Maltese crews, now service will be provided by Maltese personnel with AW139.
The agreement provided for the achievement of full operational capacity consisting in the formation of 3 SAR crews, within the 31 of August following an ad hoc program jointly prepared to meet the specific needs and operational realities of the AFM.
In total, they achieved the SAR 6 pilot qualifications and 8 aerosolorizers. This is the most experienced Maltese Mountaineering Rate, which flies on mixed crew HH212A and is the first crewmembership with which the AFM will fully provide the SAR service with AW139 helicopter.
It is also in the study of the parties an addendum to the program agreement which provides for the training of an additional Maltese navigation crew, necessary to increase the staffing area of the SAR service on AW139.
The SAR section of the Italian Cooperation Mission in the Field of Defense (MICCD) carries out its activity with mixed Italian-Maltese crews guaranteeing on the island of Malta a search and rescue service 24 hours a day with the HH212A helicopters of the Italian Air Force, even in the most difficult weather conditions.
