Dr Angelo Buscema, President of the Court of Auditors, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squad General Enzo Vecciarelli, visit the F-35 FACO in Cameri. On Thursday 8 March at the Cameri Military Airport, Dr Angelo Buscema, President of the Court of Auditors, and the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squad General Enzo Vecciarelli, were welcomed by Colonel Pietro Paolo Traverso, Head of Ce.Po.V.A., to conduct a visit to the Final Assembly and Check Out, F.A.C.O., F-35. President Buscema and the delegation, consisting of other members of the Court of Auditors, attended a number of informative briefings held by Colonel Pietro Paolo Traverso regarding the activities carried out and services provided by Ce.Po.V.A., followed by Air Division General Francesco Presicce, who presented an overall situation report concerning the F-35 JSF project, discussing the phases of the industrial technological investment made and the economic returns for the country system, particularly for SMEs in the high-tech sector. This was followed by a speech by Engineer Carlo Mancusi, JSF project manager for Leonardo, with remarks on the current situation of the FACO plant and its future prospects as a Euro-Mediterranean regional aircraft M.R.O.U. (maintenance, repair, overhaul, upgrade). General Vecciarelli concluded his remarks by highlighting the huge operational and crew training advantages offered by the technology of a fifth-generation fighter such as the F-35. The aircraft, the Chief of Air Staff continued, has effectively changed the paradigm of air power by innovating previous benchmarks; today, the management of political-military relations is profoundly renewed thanks to low observability (stealth) and the ability to acquire, process and subsequently disseminate huge amounts of data to decision-making bodies and forces in the field. The acquired technology will also make it possible to create a network among operational units in order to enable better training for pilots, with much broader and more complex mission scenarios while reducing the need for actual flight hours through the use of simulators. The delegation then visited the various infrastructures destined for the assembly and production of aircraft components, including, in particular, the assembly line of the Full wings and of the complete aircraft, as well as the structure intended for low-observable painting.
Dr Angelo Buscema expressed words of thanks to General Vecciarelli for the welcome received in Cameri and expressed heartfelt appreciation for the technical-industrial excellence demonstrated by Leonardo at the F-35 FACO.
The Multi-role Aerotactical Aircraft Centre (Ce.Po.V.A.) was established at the Cameri airfield on 23rd July 2012, under the authority of the 2nd Division of the Italian Air Force Logistic Command. Ce.Po.V.A., which oversees the 1st Aircraft Maintenance Unit and the Airport Command, represents the Italian Air Force's primary engineering-maintenance and logistical hub for high-performance “fast jet” aircraft.
