The strategic collaboration between the Italian Army Aviation, the Qatari Emiri Air Force (QEAF) and the Leonardo company made it possible to achieve 2000 flight hours in training the crews of Qatar aboard the NH-90 helicopter.
The training of Qatari personnel is one of the flagship training activities of the Army Aviation and highlights the now consolidated role of international flight school for the military helicopter component. The commander of the AVES, division general Andrea Di Stasio intervened on these aspects, who, during a ceremony for the awarding of diplomas to the staff attending the courses, wanted to highlight that "The experiences of Qatar today, together with others in the past in favor of various allied and friendly countries, to which the next commitment with Austria for the LUH (Light Utliity Helicopter) will be added, demonstrate the international value of 'Aviation of the Italian Army in military flight training, as a keystone for building international partnerships and collaborations in the military field ".
The event was also attended by engineer Fabrizio Peano, head of Training Academy of the Helicopters Division di Leonardo who, during his speech, declared: “We are pleased to contribute to the success of this important helicopter program for Qatar not only through the supply of helicopters but also the related training services and through strong synergies with the Italian Army. In this way, from Italy, we are able to transfer, together with the country's Armed Forces, a unique operational experience to the end user ".
Colonel QAEF Hamad Al Hajri, senior Qatar officer representative in Italy, thanked AVES and Leonardo for their invaluable support, expressing satisfaction with the training level achieved by their flight crews.
The overall commitment, in the three years since the launch of the “Qatar program”, has allowed the achievement of 2.000 hours of flight on the NH-90 helicopter in the terrestrial version, to which must be added a further 2.500 hours on the flight simulator. The Army Aviation has been able to transfer the knowledge acquired in the many experiences in the operational theater, thus making available to foreign colleagues a "training gym" on the military use of the aircraft inspired by maximum realism.
At the end of the event, the commander of the AVES and the representatives of the Qatar Air Force and Leonardo expressed their concrete and shared appreciation of the synergistic effort, on the premise of further opportunities and partnerships in the specific sector.
The NH-90 helicopter has been in service in the Army Aviation since 2007. Over the years, the departments of the specialty that employ it have gained considerable operational experience at national and international level, in the many types of mission that machine allows you to carry out.
