The Italian Air Force Academy ranked 2nd with the Air Force Academy Training Unit.
Following the victory on 17-18 November last, in which an Italian Air Force Academy team won the local phase of the competition Hackathon DefinSpace 2023, organised by French Space Command, on 12 December the winners flew to Paris to take part in the semi-finals and finals of the competition.
The Air Force Academy, as the team is called, had to compete against 9 other teams, presenting their work in front of an extremely diverse jury made up of industry representatives, universities and military authorities belonging to the French Space Command.
The project by the Academy students was also convincing in the semi-finals, securing a place in the final which was reserved for only two teams. Following a further presentation, this time in a plenary session, on stage the Italian team was placed second in the entire competition.
This major success demonstrates how the efforts made by the Italian Air Force in the meta-training field are moving in the right direction, nurturing the investment right from the training based on its members, on whom it is crucial to have a long-term perspective in the new space domain. The team's strengths, in addition to the skills developed within the sector during their training, were their proactive attitude and, above all, their multidisciplinary approach. This latter aspect was ensured by a heterogeneous composition that saw course participants and different roles working in perfect synergy.
The Air Force Academy, as part of the extracurricular activities overseen by the Training Units and, in particular, those aimed at the Astra Training Unit, pursues the objective of increasing awareness and knowledge of the aerospace domain for its cadets.
The’Air Force Academy It depends Air Force Schools Command/3rd Air Region. It is a higher military institute of university status which has the task of providing for recruitment and to training young people aspiring to become Air Force Officers.
Attending the Regular Courses of the Academy allows one to become Sub-Lieutenants in Permanent Regular Service in the Air Force, within the Regular Navigating Branch (pilots) and the Regular Branches of the Weapons, the Aeronautical Engineers, the Aeronautical Commissariat Corps, and the Aeronautical Health Corps. Furthermore, courses are held at the Institute for Officer Cadets (Complementary and Fixed-Term Pilots and Navigators) and direct-appointment Sub-Lieutenants (for both the Regular and Special Branches); finally, the Academy's curriculum includes courses with a specific aeronautical focus, for the benefit of foreign personnel and other Armed Forces.
