In recent weeks, the participants in the 9th Basic Course for Airborne Troops of the Air Force (BIAM) have completed the training process to obtain the qualification of “Combat Controller Level 1”a course of several weeks duration that provides staff with Pilot of the 17th Squadron a unique and special ability among the Special Forces of the Defense sector.
The qualification of Combat Controller It actually allows the Air Force Incursors to land fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft on improvised landing strips in semi-permissive and/or hostile territories, through reconnaissance of the areas of operations, analysis of their characteristics, and control of air traffic. 17th Attack Wing It is the only department of Special Forces Italian to express exclusively the ability of Combat Controller.
The course, which was introduced for the first time as part of the training process for obtaining the Air Force Flight Attendant Certificate (BIAM), was conducted in a distributed manner involving several Italian Departments and locations, including some civilian airfields. In particular, the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa he used a C-27J to land on grass runways or in small-sized airports without control services and for cargo drop-off operations; the 60th Wing of Guidonia he participated with SIAI U-208A systems for simulating the evacuation of personnel from grass and paved airfields; the 9th Wing of Grazzanise With the HH-101A helicopters he has ensured transport and extraction missions for Special Forces and the transport of vehicles in non-permissive scenarios; the personnel of the 3rd Wing of Villafranca he ensured the preparation of the airborne loads and the execution of the Forward Arming and Refuelling Point (FARP); the Airspace Control Training Department (RACSA) of Pratica di Mare he was responsible for training in procedures for controlling air traffic; the 72nd Wing of Frosinone, Finally, it made the semi-prepared track available in grass.
The further novelty of the 2024 edition was the accreditation process of the CCSL1 course by the’Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOCof the Royal Air Force (USAF). This process, part of a comprehensive series of documentary, procedural, and capacitive verifications carried out by the US evaluation team starting in July 2023, recognizes the Airborne Forces of the Air Force with full interoperability with the American Armed Forces in activities called “Global Access Operations”(GAO) that foresee the landing of aircraft even on improvised runways, thanks to the use of Combat Controller.
