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The Italian Navy acquired 56 NH90 helicopters since 2011, which logged greater than 35,000 flight hours in a number of operations in Italy and internationally.
The Marina Militare (Italian Navy) acquired its 56th and remaining NH90 helicopter throughout an official ceremony on the Maristaeli Luni Base attended by Italian Navy’s, Leonardo’s and NHIndustries’ representatives on September 29, 2023. The ultimate helicopter is a SH-90A ASW/ASuW aircraft, assembled at Leonardo’s facility in Venice Tessera.
Since 2011, the Italian Navy took supply of 46 SH-90A helicopters optimized for anti-submarine and anti-ship operations and 10 MH-90As optimized for tactical transport duties and special operations. The Italian Navy is likely one of the kind’s largest operators and its complete fleet has logged in extra of 35,000 flight hours in a number of operations in Italy and internationally.
The fleet is distributed over the three principal bases in Grottaglie, Luni and Catania, changing the older AB-212ASW. The helicopters perform a wide range of missions additionally in help of the civilian inhabitants, resembling search and rescue, medical evacuation, catastrophe aid and emergency response operations. They’re additionally typically concerned in anti-piracy operations when launched into Italian naval items working overseas on worldwide missions.
The completion of deliveries happens as a unique Full Crew Simulation Training Centre is established and opened at Maristaeli Luni, that includes a devoted Degree D Full Flight Simulator of the sort in full MR 1 configuration (due to this fact, consultant of the newest avionics normal), all totally developed by Leonardo and tailor-made to the Italian Navy’s wants. The selection of the placement just isn’t informal, as Luni is the helicopter’s principal working base for the Navy and is used for the coaching of the crews.
“The completion of the NH90 deliveries and the handover of this one-of-a-kind simulation atmosphere marks a significant step ahead, which additional reinforces our long-established partnership with the Italian Navy,” stated Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo Helicopters MD. “I need to thank all Navy and trade personnel who made these outcomes potential. We now look ahead to persevering with this collaboration with the Italian Navy in direction of new essential objectives and functionality enhancement to fulfill evolving necessities.”
The brand new simulation atmosphere permits for the SH-90 and MH-90 crews (together with each pilots and specialised personnel) to be trained with the highest level of fidelity and accuracy (1 simulation hour being equal to 1 actual flight hour) to hold out missions in any type of operational eventualities to the good thing about effectiveness, security, effectivity, and sustainability. The system is appropriate for additional evolution sooner or later, resembling the chance to be linked to different simulation belongings with the intention to develop joint and multi-domain networked mission coaching. Moreover, the Full Crew Simulation Coaching Centre will ship coaching providers to NH90 crews from different international locations.
Combined outcomes internationally
Greater than 500 NH90 helicopters have been bought to 14 international locations. Nevertheless, not all its operators are totally happy. Actually, a few of them, already determined to retire the European helicopter, with the newest being Australia that grounded the MRH90 Taipan fleet after a current lethal incident. Then again, another operators just like the Italian Military and Navy will not be encountering any specific drawback with their helicopters and are wanting ahead to using the sort for the years to come back. Another operators, like France and Spain, are even shopping for new NH90 to extend their fleets.
Regardless of the media hype, there may be a whole lot of causes for this. Some eye-opening insights concerning the Australian expertise with the sort might be discovered within the posts on LinkedIn by Jamie Martin, who commanded the fifth Aviation Regiment of the Australian Military between Oct. 2018 and Jan. 2021. His public posts on the enterprise social media platform and responses to the feedback convey some readability among the many fog of “confusion and misguided hypothesis” surrounding the matter.
“It’s straightforward guilty a platform and label it as inherently flawed. Nevertheless, each platform is only one a part of a extra in depth system, and each system has its flaws. We design and may modify any system (platform, insurance policies, procedures, coaching, contracts) with the appropriate selections. The problem lies in proudly owning as much as previous errors and acknowledging them to make the mandatory modifications – even when it means going through the implications. This takes braveness and good management,” Jamie Martin says in considered one of his posts.
You’ll be able to learn all Jamie Martin’s posts and feedback and draw your conclusions. One of the vital fascinating issues you will see that within the feedback thread is his tackle the the explanation why one other operator, New Zealand, didn’t face the identical difficulties as Australia.
Stefano D’Urso is a contract journalist and contributor to TheAviationist based mostly in Lecce, Italy. A graduate in Industral Engineering he is additionally finding out to realize a Grasp Diploma in Aerospace Engineering. Digital Warfare, Loitering Munitions and OSINT methods utilized to the world of navy operations and present conflicts are amongst his areas of experience.
David Cenciotti is a journalist based mostly in Rome, Italy. He’s the Founder and Editor of “The Aviationist”, one of many world’s most well-known and browse navy aviation blogs. Since 1996, he has written for main worldwide magazines, together with Air Forces Month-to-month, Fight Plane, and plenty of others, masking aviation, protection, battle, trade, intelligence, crime and cyberwar. He has reported from the U.S., Europe, Australia and Syria, and flown a number of fight planes with completely different air forces. He’s a former 2nd Lt. of the Italian Air Power, a personal pilot and a graduate in Pc Engineering. He has written 5 books and contributed to many extra ones.
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