Six F-35A aircraft and a team composed of pilots and maintainers from the 32nd Air Wing of the Italian Air Force have been deployed in recent days at the Experimental and Standardization Department of Air Shooting (RSSTA) in Decimomannu (Cagliari) for a three-week advanced training cycle.
The training activity will allow the pilots of the 13th Group of Amendola to consolidate the experience gained in the numerous operational capabilities already acquired with the new aircraft, including those related to its use in the airspace surveillance service, and to continue the path towards achieving the full operational capability of the F-35A weapon system, a primary objective after the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) achieved last November during the 4th Flying Course of the TLP held at the Puglia air base.
During the deployment, various types of training missions will be carried out, both day and night, in coordination with the RSSTA of Decimomannu and the Inter-Forces Training Area of Salto di Quirra. Thanks to the so-called omnirange characteristics of the new weapon system, which characterize it as a 5th-generation platform compared to the multirange ones of previous generations, in particular for the unique capabilities of the new aircraft in terms of real-time data collection and management (sensor fusion), it is possible to simultaneously express the full range of aero-tactical capabilities in flight that were previously necessarily carried out using multiple types of aircraft. Pilots can then train, during the same flight, on a wide range of missions, including combat with other aircraft (air-to-air), simulation of engagement with precision-guided weapons against ground targets, ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance And Reconnaissance) activities to collect data to support operations, close support activities for ground and naval forces, and electronic warfare.
The training missions will be carried out at designated altitudes and portions of airspace, within which – through sophisticated simulation technologies equipped on the aircraft – pilots will be able to train on air combat tactics and procedures and on engaging precision targets on the ground, but without requiring the use or deployment of any type of weaponry. Everything will in fact be reproduced by on-board computers, through which the pilots will be presented with the different types of threats during the mission based on the operational scenarios that will be simulated from time to time, and the pilot will always be able to train to effectively counter and neutralize these threats.
Among other things, the capabilities of virtual and embedded training (simulated training and virtual training on board the aircraft itself) allow for training in total safety on all procedures, operational tactics, and the development of the capabilities of the weapon system, as well as allowing for a substantial reduction in costs.
