Airforces

These are ready to respond at minimum

notice to any kind of military operation

or in support of the civilian population.

In recent years the SH-90A has taken part

in a range of national and NATO exercises

including Mare Aperto, the main Italian

training event of the year held in the central

Mediterranean. It involves a variety of air,

naval and amphibious assets, with the aim

of testing the operational effectiveness of

the naval commands and assigned forces.

Another important event is NATO’s annual

ASW exercise Dynamic Manta, one of the

most challenging of its kind and an excellent

opportunity for NATO navies to practise

and evaluate their anti-submarine skills.

Periodically the SH-90As are also involved

in exercises with Italy’s Corpo Nazionale

Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (National

Corps for Mountain and Speleological Rescue).

While the SH-90A is designed to operate

primarily in a naval environment, it can be

reconfigured to support troops ashore. The

mission operator stations can be replaced

with troop seats or stretcher-mounting kits

to evacuate casualties. For land warfare, the

M134 machine gun is normally mounted on

one of the sliding side doors for self-defence.

In order to better project military power

from the sea and to support amphibious

and special forces operations, the Italian

Navy has also acquired the tactical transport

version of the NH90. The TTH variant

is designated MH-90A in Italian Navy

service. It is lighter than the SH-90A and

equipped with a new tactical and weapon

control system, including a completely

integrated helmet display for the pilot.

The MH-90A provides commonality with

the SH-90A and combines the main features

of the TTH version, such as the rear ramp

and mission equipment, with SH-90A naval

features including the ‘harpoon’ deck lock,

freely castoring nosewheel, automatic rotor

blade/tail fold and deck handling system

to ensure safe ship operations day and

night and in adverse weather conditions.

The delivery of the first MH-90A to 5° Gruppo

Elicotteri at Maristaeli Luni in January marked

a significant step forward in capability for the

Italian Navy. Even before its arrival, crews

trained for some of the MH-90A’s missions

with the available SH-90As. Eventually,

the MH-90A will succeed the AB212, which

remains a familiar sight at Grottaglie.

Crews of the venerable AB212 are still proud

of their mount and especially its achievements

when deployed to Afghanistan. One of the

airframes took nine bullet hits and survived

to complete its mission. This airframe is now

on display at the air base’s museum. Used

in support of the San Marco Brigade, Italian

Navy AB212s are compatible with night-

vision goggles (NVGs). Low-visibility ‘Panther’

Squadron patches on their uniforms identify

the crews qualified to fly night missions.

Achieving combat-ready status on the

SH-90A depends on the individual background

of each pilot. Pilots who are qualified combat-

ready on other types, such as the AB212

or SH-3D, require 150 hours to transition

to the SH-90A. Pilots fresh out of flight

school require a total of 450 flight hours on

helicopters and 150 hours on the SH-90A.

The SH-90A and MH-90A represent

a generational leap compared to the

AB212. The SH-90A is twice as heavy as

an AB212, and offers greater autonomy,

power and speed. Its real strength lies

in its multi-role capability, achieved

through a combination of technology and

integrated systems. Pilots told AFM that a

single SH-90A can do the work of multiple

AB212s, and that despite its heavier weight,

it offers superior handling characteristics

due to its fly-by-wire flight controls.

In the near future SH-90As and MH-90As

will completely replace the Italian Navy

AB212s and will become a familiar sight on

board the ships of the Marina Militare.

A pilot’s path to the SH-90A

Before being assigned to the SH-90A, Italian

pilots receive their ‘Wings of Gold’ in the

United States, having followed the same

training syllabus as a US Navy helicopter pilot.

Naval Flight School consists of four phases:

Aviation Pre-flight Indoctrination (API),

Primary, Intermediate, and Advanced Flight

Training.

All Student Naval Aviators (SNAs) start

out at the same place: Naval Air Station

Pensacola, located on the Gulf Coast in the

Florida panhandle.

Known as the ‘Cradle of Naval Aviation’, API

is the first step in flight training for student

officers. It lasts for six weeks (four weeks

of academics and two weeks of survival

training). The four weeks of academics

focus on aerodynamics, aircraft engines

and systems, meteorology, air navigation

and flight rules and regulations. An exam

is taken at the end of each course. Once

academics are over, API students begin each

morning learning water survival skills. The

swimming course culminates in a one-mile

swim in a flight suit. Survival training

includes classes on basic land survival,

survival equipment, physiology and first aid.

After graduating from API, SNAs enter

Primary Flight Training. This lasts around

six months and consists of the following

sections: ground school, contact (take-off

and landing, limited manoeuvres, spins),

basic instruments, precision aerobatics,

formation, radio instrument navigation,

night familiarisation, and visual navigation.

Italian Navy students conduct primary

training at NAS Whiting Field in Pensacola,

Florida, where they learn the basics of

flying in the T-6 Texan II.

Upon successful completion of Primary

Flight Training, SNAs are selected either for

helicopters or jets, according to their grades,

preferences and the needs of the service.

Advanced Flight Training for helicopter

pilots takes place at NAS Corpus Christi,

Texas, beginning with around five months

in a multi-seat, twin-engine turboprop: the

T-44C King Air.

During the final phase of Advanced Flight

Training, students receive more than 100

hours’ instruction in which they learn

the unique characteristics of rotary-wing

aviation in the TH-57 Sea Ranger. They

progress through several phases of training

including basic helicopter familiarisation;

tactics; basic and radio instruments; visual,

instrument, and low-level navigation;

formation; night familiarisation (including

use of NVGs) and search and rescue.

Once they receive their Wings of Gold,

the naval aviators return to Italy. Pilots

selected for the SH-90A attend ground

school at Catania, Sicily, for around eight

weeks before continuing flight training

at their assigned operational squadron.

Andrea Avian

Above: An in-cockpit briefing for SH-90A crew of 4°

Gruppo Elicotteri at Grottaglie.

Above: The Italian Navy has ordered 56 NH90s, of which 46 will be delivered in the SH-90A configuration

seen here, for anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions. The remaining ten will be in MH-90A

configuration, with a rear ramp, optimised for heliborne assault.

AFM

4° GRUPPO ELICOTTERI

80 // SEPTEMBER 2017 #354 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com