COMPLETED 10TH 'INTERCEPTOR CONTROL' COURSE'

On Friday 15 July, the graduation ceremony took place in the presence of General S.A. Ferro. The Air Force’s first female ‘fighter controller’ has qualified. The newly qualified interception controllers – known as ‘fighter controllers’ in technical jargon – following a further period of practical training at their respective operational units, will be able to control complex air-tactical missions of various kinds, both training and live, as well as provide assistance with in-flight refuelling missions and the navigation of operational air traffic. The certificate presentation ceremony was presided over by Air Force General Tommaso Ferro, Deputy Commander of the Air Force, who, in his address to the Commander of RACSA, Colonel Gennaro Loconsole, to the unit’s delegation and to the newly qualified controllers, he emphasised the importance of roles and professional skills that are ‘vital’ to the fulfilment of the tasks assigned to the Armed Forces, such as the officers and non-commissioned officers responsible for airspace and air traffic control and for the aeronautical meteorological services related to flight assistance. Among the qualified personnel from the 10th Course, Captain Liliana Capano, a graduate of the Regular Programme (‘Borea V’ course) at the Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli (Naples), is set to become the Italian Air Force’s first female ‘fighter pilot’. The role of ‘fighter pilot’, and of air defence control in general, is a specific area of expertise for Italian Air Force personnel, as part of the Armed Forces‘ mission to ensure the continuous surveillance and defence of national airspace through an integrated system of radar and interceptor aircraft.Among the typical duties of a ’fighter controller‘ is the management of air interception missions, namely the immediate take-off (known in technical jargon as a ’scramble‘) of the Italian Air Force’s interceptor fighters, which are themselves constantly on ’standby‘, that is, ready to take off within a matter of minutes. Under the control of the ’fighter controller‘, the aircraft head towards the ”suspicious’ aircraft, visually verify its identity and, where necessary, intervene to escort it to the boundaries of the airspace under their responsibility. RACSA is responsible for the training and operational qualification of personnel assigned to provide air traffic control and air defence control services, as well as aeronautical meteorological services. The Department is also responsible for maintaining the training and operational standards required at national and international level (NATO, ICAO, Eurocontrol, WMO – World Meteorological Organisation), including proficiency in specific English-language terminology. In recent years, RACSA has organised air defence and air traffic control courses for personnel from numerous foreign armed forces (Albania, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Iraq, Senegal, Bangladesh, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania). TG2 from 20/7/2011 at 18:15 Nuova Spazio Radio of 15/7/2011 at 10.00 am GR2 of 15/7/2011 at 18:44 Corriere della Sera of 16/07/2011 Women's eyes at the controls of fighter jets 10th CI Course at the 4th Wing and 21st Radar Group