The Air Force was the first to deploy the aircraft in operational theaters and today is among the Air Forces with the most flight hours. The Commander of the 46th Air Brigade, Brigadier General Roberto Boi, congratulated the men and women of the 2nd and 50th Flight Groups, the Equipment Training Center, and the Aeromobile Efficiency Group on the important milestone achieved.
The aircraft entered into service on August 18, 2000, when the first example arrived in Pisa. The arrival of the C-130J, which replaced the C-130H that had already been involved in numerous missions worldwide, gave a renewed boost to air transport operations, a specialty that has now become essential for supporting the Italian Armed Forces. The aircraft has demonstrated excellent reliability in all areas where it has been deployed, from Arctic climates to desert ones.
The Air Force was the first air force to deploy the aircraft in operational theaters and today is among those with the most hours of flight time with the C-130J aircraft, becoming a benchmark in the field of tactical air transport, particularly regarding the operational deployment of the aircraft, both at home and at forward operating bases abroad.
Flexible and highly technologically advanced, the C-130J can land and take off from semi-prepared runways, that is, runways represented by strips of land or grass. This peculiarity often makes this aircraft the preferred means – sometimes the only one – to deliver timely relief and assistance in locations that are otherwise inaccessible, as witnessed by the presence of the C-130J in the Philippines these days, providing relief to the local population affected by the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan.
Always a protagonist in numerous emergency relief operations and the transport of people in imminent life-threatening danger, the 46th Brigade with the C130-J has progressively increased the services provided to the national and international community. This contribution has become increasingly effective and important thanks to the aircraft’s ability to load ambulances or medical vehicles inside, from which the patient cannot often be separated.
In 2006 the aircraft was also used for the first time to transport a person suffering from hemorrhagic fevers: this event marked the beginning of the use of the C-130J for the transport of people suffering from highly contagious diseases. This additional capability is only the latest in terms of time and adds to the numerous uses to which the aircraft can be adapted.
Through the aircraft of the 46th Air Brigade, Italy is transporting some of the world’s most advanced units in the field of rescue, recovery and medical assistance: this cooperation with the Fire Brigade, Civil Protection, the Emergency Surgery Unit of the Pisa hospital and other humanitarian/non-profit organizations demonstrates the support that the Air Force has always provided to other institutions and civil organizations.
