The ten-year deal covers the complete syllabus from the fundamental jet coaching to the lead-in fighter coaching.
The chief of the Swedish Air Power, Maj. Gen. Jonas Wikman, and the chief of the Italian Air Power, Lt. Gen. Luca Goretti, signed on Dec.4, 2023, an settlement that can permit Sweden to train future pilots in Italy for the next decade. About 100 scholar pilots and 10 instructors might be continuously included within the coaching programs of the Italian Air Power from the Main Pilot Coaching of Section II as much as the Lead-In Fighter Coaching Section IV.
A date for the start of the coaching of Swedish pilots has not been supplied, nevertheless it has been confirmed that it will likely be carried out at each Lecce-Galatina Air Base, the place the Section II and III of the coaching are often carried out, and at Decimomannu Air Bases, the place the Section IV has been lately relocated with the ItAF-Leonardo joint International Flight Training School. Sweden, thus, joins a big group of nations that over the previous couple of years have already chosen Italy for flight coaching, satisfied by the excellence of the provide and coaching buildings: Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Qatar, Singapore, United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“This can be a additional vital step for the security of European skies: discovering agreements and synergies between nations that share areas and orientations is all the time productive. Working with Swedish colleagues will signify a chance for development for each nations,” stated Gen. Goretti. “This settlement additionally represents one other basic piece for the IFTS venture, through which the Nation System is investing with belief, conviction and, above all, outcomes. A venture born due to the total and satisfied help of the Ministry of Protection and which can also be primarily based on the worthwhile and confirmed synergy with Leonardo.”
The specific point out of the Section III coaching at Galatina AB and Section IV at Decimomannu AB signifies that the settlement covers the coaching of future fighter pilots. The truth is, as we defined earlier this 12 months after our visit to Galatina AB, the Section II is frequent for all future army pilots after the Academy, with the scholars becoming a member of the 61° Stormo and flying the MB-339A for the Main Pilot Coaching.
Throughout this section, pilots are constantly evaluated for the selection of their future task plane, as Section III is totally different primarily based on what sort of plane might be assigned to the pilots. Pilots assigned to tactical jets stay in Galatina, the place they proceed with the Specialised Pilot Coaching on the MB-339CD and, upon commencement, receive the Army Pilot License. Then, they proceed with the Section IV or Lead In to Fighter coaching in Decimomannu, flying the T-346.
Summarizing, college students which have by no means flown jets arrive on the 61st Wing and, after 2 years of coaching, they’re prepared to maneuver on to excessive efficiency fighter jets in operational situations. In an effort to full the coaching syllabus for the fighter position and be assigned to the Twister, Eurofighter, F-35 or (in Sweden’s case) the Gripen, the scholar wants a complete of 30 months of coaching, which embody about 255 flight missions, for a complete of 318 flight hours, and 166 simulator classes, for a complete of about 178 hours.
With the settlement having a period of 10 years, Swedish pilots will begin their coaching in Italy with the MB-339 and later one transfer to the T-345. Within the final 40 years, the MB-339 “Macchino” graduated 2,500 pilots and flew for 400,000 hours. Even when it’s closing to the tip of its service life, the MB-339 continues to display itself as an distinctive, secure, dependable machine, and continues to be used within the “analog” A variant for the Section 2 and within the “digital” CD variant for the Section 3.
The MB-339 is now about to get replaced by the new T-345 High Efficiency Trainer. The T-345 is the brand new fundamental jet coach of the Italian Air Power and can step by step exchange the complete MB-339 fleet, starting from the A variant and later persevering with with the CD variant. The truth is, due to its traits, the plane can be utilized for the complete coaching syllabus, from the Main Pilot Coaching to the Specialised Pilot Coaching.
The T-345 will carry a number of benefits. Similarly to the M346, the brand new plane might be a part of an built-in netcentric system, which is able to permit to shrink the time wanted for the coaching whereas enhancing its high quality and effectivity. The T-345 coach provides efficiency typical of a jet plane, akin to the utmost altitude and velocity, with operational prices corresponding to those of a turboprop plane.
Stefano D’Urso is a contract journalist and contributor to TheAviationist primarily based 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 strategies utilized to the world of army operations and present conflicts are amongst his areas of experience.