The Japan Air Self – Defense Force (JASDF) chooses Italy to train its military pilots at the flight school in phase IV “Lead In to Fighter Training”
In accordance with the Technical Arrangement signed in October 2021 between the Italian Air Force and the Japan Air Self – Defense Force, on Tuesday 11 January 2022 they arrived at the “F. Cesari “in Galatina, home of the 61st Stormo, two Japanese pilot students, accompanied by the Senior National Representative, to attend advanced training courses (Phase IV) in the framework of the International Flight Training School (IFTS).
The young Japanese pilots, after an initial in-processing phase at the 61st Wing, will be sent to the Aviation English Training Center in Loreto to attend an English course lasting about two months, and then begin the ” Lead-In to Fighter Training Course ”, Phase IV training, preparatory to the start-up of the crew on high-performance military aircraft.
The arrival of the Japanese students is part of the operational start-up process of the International Flight Training School (IFTS), a project born from the strategic collaboration between the Italian Air Force and Leonardo for the creation of an international center of excellence in the field of advanced flight training of military pilots.
From today, therefore, at the entrance to the military airport of Galatina “F. Cesari “, the flag of Japan is added alongside those of Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Germany, Greece, Qatar, Singapore and the United States, all countries that currently have student pilots and / or flight instructors at the Galatina school, a unique training reality in the world panorama.
The IFTS initiative has, in a nutshell, put two national excellences in common, one public and one private: on the one hand there are the capabilities of the Arma Azzurra in the flight training sector, especially those consolidated at the Galatina school with over 75 years of experience in training Italian and foreign pilots; on the other hand, the resources of the main Italian industrial reality in the field of security and defense.
A highly strategic program that aims to meet the growing demand from the Air Force and partner countries for the training of their pilots. The project will make it possible to double the current training offer through the creation of a new training center distributed between the Galatina base and that of Decimomannu in Sardinia, where the new IFTS campus is under construction.
Employed by the Schools Command AM / 3rd Air Region of Bari, the 61st Wing has the task of providing flight training on phase II jets – Primary Pilot Training, common to all military pilot students, aimed at identifying the lines on which they will fly (fighters, remote piloting (RPA), helicopters, transport); phase III – Specialized Pilot Training, aimed exclusively at student pilots selected for the “Fighter” and “RPA” lines which ends with the achievement of the military pilot’s license (turreted eagle); and phase IV – Lead In to Fighter Training – LIFT, preparatory to subsequent use on the latest generation fighter aircraft.
The training activity of the 61 ° Stormo is aimed at student pilots of the Italian Air Force, other Armed Forces and allied / partner countries, in all flight phases according to the requests of each country.