This first experimental flight was carried out today by an MQ-9 Predator B from the Air Force's 32nd Wing, managed by Military Air Traffic Controllers, in synergy with ENAC and with the operational support of ENAV.

This afternoon, Wednesday 20 December, an MQ-9 Predator B – a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) of the Italian Air Force – flew for the first time in national airspace using the same routes normally dedicated to manned air traffic.

The mission, the first of its kind nationally and among the first in Europe, is part of a planned and conducted trial by the Air Force in conjunction with the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) for carrying out a series of flights using remotely piloted military aircraft in co-existence with commercial air traffic, rather than within exclusively reserved airspace, as current air traffic procedures and rules stipulate.

The aim of the trial is to revise national legislation governing the circulation of remotely piloted military aircraft, placing Italy among the first countries able to guide sector legislation. This trial activity will also support the development of future civil-military coordination protocols between the Italian Air Force and ENAV (the Italian Air Navigation Services provider), for ever smoother integration of RPAS in national airspace, as well as further researching the maximum usability of airspace where Security and Defence operations must be guaranteed on the one hand, and the reduction of flight times and therefore a decrease in environmental impact (CO2 emissions) in favour of the expansion of commercial air traffic on the other.

The activity is part of the long-standing collaboration between the Air Force and the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), which formalised a Letter of Intent for this specific trial last November, drawing on the experience gained by the Armed Force over the past twenty years in the deployment of remotely piloted aircraft in the military field. The contribution made by the Air Force with RPAS assets for reconnaissance and surveillance activities is significant and continuously growing in this area, including support for other Ministries, such as public security, civil protection, and environmental monitoring.

Indeed, since 2004, Italy has been the first European country to regulate the use of airspace to ensure the multiple activities conducted by military UAVs, becoming a reference in terms of certification, regulation, and operational management.

The trial involved in-depth and meticulous planning of flight activities, with the involvement of all stakeholders to ensure, first and foremost, the safety of aerial operations, in accordance with the principle of flexible use of airspace.

Operationally, for this trial, ENAV and the Air Squad Command of the Air Force, the Apex Body which, through its subordinate bodies, prepares the operational capability of the Armed Force also in the “Air Traffic Control” sector and the management of national aerospace resources, have finalised an operational protocol for coordinating the provision of Air Traffic Services, ensured by military Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) of the Coordination and Control Services of the Air Force (SCCAM) in Rome and Brindisi.

SCCAM units operate by regulation, within their respective ENAV Area Control Centres, in a unique international organisational model. This co-location allows for optimised civil-military coordination, maximises the use of national airspace, and also guarantees experimental activities such as today's. These activities will support the normative and regulatory evolution of a sector with extremely high potential, such as remotely piloted flight services for the community.