In recent days, with the last landing on the Antarctic pack of the C-130J of the 46^ Air Brigade of Pisa, the airlift that the Air Force has ensured as part of a collaboration agreement with the National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Development (ENEA) for logistical support to the 40^ Italian expedition underway in Antarctica has been concluded.
The crews of the 46^ Air Brigade, 36 military including flight crews, technicians and specialists trained to operate in extreme climatic and environmental conditions and in this specific case on icy runways, ensured – according to the needs represented by ENEA – the transport with a C-130J aircraft of passengers, materials and vehicles on the Antarctic continent.
In particular, the Air Force aircraft ensured the transport of about 43 tons of material and over 200 ENEA technicians and researchers, carrying out about 80 hours of flight time for the connections between the Christchurch base, in New Zealand, and the US base of McMurdo and Terranova Bay in Antarctica, for the subsequent transfer to the Italian Mario Zucchelli base.
The Air Force returned to Antarctica with its aircraft in 2019 after twenty years. In particular, the crews of the 46^ Air Brigade landed with the C-130J transport aircraft, an asset that in the meantime replaced the C-130H “Hercules” that had flown in the southern hemisphere.
The C-130J aircraft and the personnel of the 46^ Air Brigade returned to the Air Force Air Base in Pisa on Sunday 1 December.
The contribution of the 46th Air Brigade confirms the Air Force’s ability to guarantee transport at great distances from Italy and represents a concrete demonstration of projection and logistical support.
The Air Force also continues to support, together with the specialized personnel of the other Armed Forces, the 40^ Italian expedition to Antarctica, with CNR, ENEA and as part of the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA).
The Armed Forces participate in the expedition with 18 military experts from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Carabinieri. They will support the researchers in the field throughout the course of the expedition, making both external and underwater campaigns possible and safe, but also air operations thanks to the skills of weather forecasters and air traffic controllers.
The Air Force with the technical staff of the Infrastructure Service of the Logistics Command has also contributed in previous expeditions to the construction of a semi-prepared airstrip at Boulder Clay, which in the future can be used for air transport when the climatic conditions do not allow the use of the runway on the Antarctic pack.
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