LEONARDO-FINMECCANICA P-72A MILITARY
http://www.airinternational.com | 77maintenance. Today it overhauls Italy’s
C-130J fleet. Being a derivative of a civilian
aircraft, the P-72 has an overall operational
life estimated at around 25,000 hours, a
potential career of more than 30 years.
Service introduction
The introduction of a new military aircraft,
albeit a fleet of only four, is always a delicate
process, and the P-72’s introduction into
service has been performed in a somewhat
unusual way. AIR International was able to
discuss the problems with Lt Col Vincenzo
‘F’, Commander of the 86° CAE (Centro
Addestramento Equipaggi or Aircrew Training
Centre) and Major Luigi ‘M’, Commander of 88°
Gruppo, 41° Stormo’s two flying units, currently
commanded by Colonel Francesco Frare.
Lt Col ‘F’ told us: We are still linked to an
integrated logistics support contract with the
manufacturer, which includes not only the
technical and maintenance aspect, but also
the training element. It was, in fact, Leonardo
that undertook not only the training of the first
groups of personnel on the aircraft’s various
mission systems, but also the transition of
pilots and engineers through the courses held
at the ATR Training Centre at Toulouse.”
The pilots undertake type conversion on
to the ATR as a green aircraft, and so are
subjected to the same training syllabus as
all the pilots destined to operate the civilian
ATR fleet. The courses comprise a ground
school element, with intensive classroom
studies, and a flying element conducted in
the simulator. Pilots and engineers learn
everything about the aircraft through a
computer-based training system that cover
every aspect of the aircraft, from software to
external checks, with a virtual maintenance
simulator and a virtual cabin procedure
trainer. The actual flying segment, six to
eight missions (around 20 flying hours), is
also conducted, thanks to the use of a full
flight simulator that permits the exploration
of every phase of flight and of all the
various possible types of emergency. Hours
accumulated in the simulator have equivalent
value to those flown in the actual aircraft.
Once the course at Toulouse has ended,
usually after around two months, culminating
(not always) with a real qualification flight
in an aircraft, the pilots obtain a basic
type-rating on the aircraft. From the end of
2017, the conversion course on to the P-72
(differential course or Delta course) has been
conducted by Leonardo’s own test pilots.
This portion of the pilots’ training highlights
the differences between the civilian and
military variants, mainly minor modifications
to the cockpit and the distribution of weight
around the aircraft.
In parallel with pilot training, six
instructor pilots were qualified, initially at
Toulouse, and later at Caselle, enabling the
Aeronautica Militare to conduct the Delta
course autonomously. From 2018, post-
Toulouse conversion courses for pilots
and mission system operators have been
conducted at home at Sigonella by the
86° CAE and comprise three phases. The
first initial conversion phase requires four
missions and covers the use of the aircraft in
maritime surveillance missions. The second
results in the achievement of a SAR mission
qualification, including the potential to
deploy a SAR kit, with an inflatable dinghy,
and to perform the maritime patrol role in a
complex operational environment with an
elevated threat level. The third involves the
complete utilisation of the avionics planned
for installation in the FOC configuration.
These latter two phases are gradually being
developed, hand-in-hand with the increaseof the service’s understanding of its aircraft’s
capabilities and performance.
Up to now, flight crews qualified on the
P-72 are made up of former members of the
Atlantic community who have converted
on to the new aircraft. The first crews to
undergo conversion are now operational on
the aircraft, and the unit’s IOC was achieved
in summer 2017. Although the crews were not
formally qualified, the first operational tasking
of the P-72 took place during the G7 summit
held at Taormina, between May 26 and 27,- In practice, this was a task conducted
within the operational development phase.
FOC will only be achieved following the
delivery of aircraft in FOC configuration.
The crew in the new P-72 is arranged
differently from the Atlantic. Several crew-
members’ jobs have been rolled into one;
the electronics operator, who managed
radar, ESM and radio, and the acoustic sensor
operators are replaced on the P-72 by one
mission systems operator (MSO). Even before
the arrival of the new aircraft, the Stormo
had to retrain some personnel to ensure they
were all capable of fulfilling the MSO role.
As Major ‘M’ says: “On board the P-72, each
workstation is identical to the others, and
each operator can operate independently
with the various mission systems. The crew
of a P-72 is made up of two pilots, one of
whom functions as crew commander, a
TACCO [tactical coordinator], four MSOs,
and two OBTs [onboard technicians], who
during the missions serve as observers at
the two dedicated stations, located at the
rear.” He went on to say that the TACCO, a
crew-member also found on the Atlantic, is
equipped with a classified laptop on which the
imagery provided by all the on-board sensors
can be called up to give complete situational
awareness in the process.
This version of the ATR-72
is not equipped to perform
the anti-submarine warfare
mission, but is a very capable
ISR and C4I platform.”The aircraft has proven to be particularly
flexible and available for the mission
types that we perform today.”
Commander Gruppo Efficienza Velivoli 41° Stormo, Colonel Alfredo N