Thursday 31 July 2025 at Pratica di Mare Airport, a T-346A aircraft from Flight Experimental Department (R.S.V.) of the Air Experimentation Aeronautical and Space Division (D.A.S.A.S.) undertook a demonstrative technical flight to conclude the first phase of the project Sustainable Aviation Fuel–National Acrobatic Patrol “S.A.F. P.A.N.”, in collaboration with Enilive and Eni's Research and Development.
The activities were organised and coordinated by the Aeronautical Experimentation Air Division of the Logistics Command of the’Italian Air Force with the contribution of Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness and in collaboration with Leonardo.
The project is being developed in line with the entry into force of the regulation Refuel EU Aviation (Suitable for 55), which from 2025 mandates aviation fuel suppliers to ensure increasing quotas of eco-sustainable components (Sustainable Aviation Fuels – S.A.F) in Jet fuel to be made available to air operators in EU airports.
The fuel used during the test contains 30 % of SAF and was produced from 100 % renewable raw materials at the Enilive biorefinery in Gela, in line with the technical requirements set out by the Department of Aeronautical and Space Materials Technologies (R.T.M.A.S.), And Leonardo, the manufacturer of the T-346A, has previously verified its compatibility with the aircraft's fuelling systems for flight safety.
The resulting mixture was also verified by radiocarbon analysis by ppqSense Laboratories for the exact determination of biogenic content.
The check for compliance with technical regulations of the fuel for introduction into the logistics cycle of the Air Force was carried out at the 2nd Technical Control Laboratory of Fiumicino (RM) in co-ordination with the Technical Operations Services Department of the D.A.S.A.S. system to then be tested in flight on the T-346A aircraft, Leonardo's new trainer which will replace the current MB339 of the National Acrobatics Patrol – Frecce Tricolori.
Although the “ReFuelEU Aviation”although it does not formally apply to the Armed Forces, the supply chain for military aircraft is in fact strongly interconnected with that of civil aviation; for this reason, it is strategic for the Air Force to retain the ability to refuel military aircraft at airport infrastructures dual use, which are military and civilian alike, at which it is not logistically possible to manage separate lines for SAF fuel and conventional fossil-origin fuel.
The flight test represents the culmination of the integration process that combines the Italian Air Force's need to align with European regulations on SAF to increase its strategic-operational capability, while fully respecting environmental sustainability, with Enilive's new strategies for producing increasingly sustainable fuels.
The Air Experimentation Department of Aeronautics and Space gathers all the study and experimental bodies of the Air Force under a single command. The Division represents the main consultancy body for the Armed Force and the Defence Administration for flight testing of aircraft and weapon systems, chemical-physical analysis and evaluation of structural and consumable materials, training and experimentation in the field of aerospace medicine, operational software management and operational verification of weapon systems. The D.A.S.A.S. also provides technical-logistical and operational support to bodies of the Air Force and other Armed Forces and State Armed Corps located on the site and manages, through the’Air Terminal Operations Centre (A.T.O.C.), flights destined for operations outside national borders. Pratica di Mare airport is the first Italian military airbase for aircraft traffic and movements, and it is also the sole national military health entry point.
