The sea of the west coast of Sardinia, the plains of Campidano, the blue and green of Capo Frasca, the deepest blue that opens out to sea and the mountains of the interior that rise in the distance. Real scenario and virtual scenario: all in a single flight, between real and simulated clouds, where future Air Force pilots will train. Starting from Decimomannu, where the International Flight Training School was born and raised. A flight academy that is already an international attraction: even before entering into operation it intrigues the armed forces of various nations and presents itself as a center of excellence that will also allow the development of new potential for the aircraft that Italy already has in equipment. The construction site proceeds for once overcoming the sound barrier of the usual cloudy bureaucracy. Military pilots and engineers, practical experiences and new technologies.
A day on the track
Decimomannu military airport tastes that future as a great training center. After the frightening parable that risked closing a base that was previously considered strategic by NATO. With the Ifts we start again. With an eye to environmental protection. Ready on the track are the T-346s, the aircraft that the Italian Air Force is proud of. Twenty-two will be deployed permanently in Sardinia and on-board activities will alternate with digital ones, within the large simulators. The most faithful to reality, the most that science and technology have produced so far. The blue weapon awaits the start of the school almost staggeringly. For a very simple reason: every year the number of trained pilots will double. From the 40 who are now preparing for the real activity in the twin center of Galatina, it will soon reach 80.
Digital training
Obviously there will also be a greater number of instructors at work: the military ones together with those of Leonardo. And this is the result of the agreement between the Ministry of Defense and the Italian aerospace giant. "For the armed force it is a great opportunity," explains Major Tommaso De Salvo, who is the deputy commander of the 212th Flight Group of the 61st Wing of Galatina, where the pilots of the “fighters” are trained. «The training takes place over several phases: an elementary phase in which the technical peculiarities of each student emerge and at that point the different specializations are evaluated, from helicopters to the aerotactic line, up to transport aircraft. Then we move on to fighter training. Phase IV is the one carried out now by the 212th Group and which will also be carried out here in Decimomannu. This is the pre-operational training and thanks to simulators with advanced technologies it will be possible to carry out tactical, flight and combat activities of extreme fidelity. A system that makes it possible to reduce actual missions, with substantial economic savings and greater respect for the environment ».
The big brain
Few states still have such an advanced training apparatus available. A perfect combination of very faithful virtual experiences and missions in the air. The highest level of simulation is possible only within what Leonardo has renamed "Its": fidelity and complexity of the so-called "Integrated training system". "With this method - explain the Leonardo technicians - tactical scenarios can be duplicated, involving students also on the emotional and sensorial dimension, reducing the flight hours necessary to reach the desired competence, cutting costs and increasing the availability of the fleet for operational use ". The other part of this technology obviously also affects airplanes. And the flagship is the 346's "Full mission simulator", a real simulator that can also be used in flight and which allows the latest generation vehicles to perform basic maneuvers, formation flights, refueling at altitude and advanced air-to-air and air-to-ground combat tactics. The simulator in the base and the plane that has already taken off can be connected in real time and the two pilots, the one inside the school and the one in the clouds, are able to operate side by side, as if they were both on a mission. This is how the technicians who designed the system explain it: «With the aircraft's Embedded tactical training system, through the Lvc apparatus, the simulation concept is implemented in the network between the aircraft and the simulator. The student pilots in the simulator "see" and interact with the real plane in the virtual environment, while on the plane the traces of virtual aircraft and simulators can be displayed ». «Thanks to this technology - adds the major Tommaso De Salvo - the students already have a strong familiarity with the vehicle, when they pass from the simulator phase to that of real flight. The virtual apparatuses ensure a perfect reproduction of the external environment. They also make it possible to create specific scenarios and, in addition, connecting the aircraft with the ground system is certainly a great opportunity ».
In the dockyard
Observing it on the large map of the project, the new Ifts will take the form of a huge ipsilon: simulators, classrooms, offices, accommodation, but also areas dedicated to sport. What the Vitrociset technicians carry out under Leonardo's supervision will be a sort of base in the base: a dedicated area, apparently isolated but which will exploit the facilities that the Experimental and Standardization Department of Decimomannu already has available. What will arise will look a lot like a university campus: both for the organization and because the elite of the Italian Air Force will have to pass through these classrooms. "On the one hand there will be the logistics area, consisting of four buildings for students' accommodation and a building for instructors - explains Alessandro Casetta, Leonardo's project manager, who coordinates the work on the field every day - On the side there will be the sports building with a football field, a swimming pool, a gym and changing rooms. On the opposite side there will be the training area. The GBTS, which stands for “Ground based training systems”, is the real heart of the school ». "The training activity will change radically and with the launch of the IFTS not only will it be possible to affect the environment much less but, for example, it will be possible to extend the virtual missions even in the hours when there is no more light - underlines the Colonel Cosimo De Luca, commander of Decimomannu's experimental and standardization department of aerial shooting - In short, the project brings our base back to the great potential of the past, exploiting its main resource: the very large air spaces for training missions. It is no coincidence that negotiations are already underway with 35 countries, which would like to exploit the center. Let's say it is a great opportunity for our defense, but also for the related industry ». The construction site is working at full speed, also because the goal is to do it very quickly. Between excavations, piles and the first prefabricated buildings, there will be one hundred workers in the field. And also for the occupation in South Sardinia it is a not insignificant breath of fresh air. «For 70 per cent the structure will be prefabricated - says Stefano Malagesi, Vitrociset technical director - The first skid on the ground was given in January 2021 and by February 2022 we plan to deliver the structures. With the aim of hosting the first driver classes as early as July ».