For the first time a remotely piloted military aircraft flew in Italy on routes previously dedicated exclusively to piloted air traffic
This first experimental flight was carried out today by an MQ-9 Predator B of the 32nd Wing of the Air Force, managed by Military Air Traffic Controllers, in synergy with ENAC and the operational support of ENAV.
This afternoon, Wednesday 20 December, an MQ-9 Predator B - Remotely Piloted Aircraft (APR) of the Air Force - flew for the first time in national airspace using the same routes normally dedicated to manned air traffic edge.
The mission, the first of this type at a national level and among the first at a European level, is part of an experiment planned and conducted by the Air Force in synergy with the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) for the execution with remotely piloted military aircraft of a series of flights in coexistence with commercial air traffic, rather than within exclusively reserved airspace, as the current air traffic procedures and rules provide.
The objective of the experiment is the revision of the national legislation that regulates the circulation of remotely piloted military aircraft, placing Italy among the first countries capable of orienting the sector legislation. This testing activity will also allow us to support the development of future civil-military coordination protocols between the Air Force and ENAV (the Italian Society for Flight Assistance), for an increasingly fluid integration of UAVs in space national air force, as well as further seeking maximum usability of the airspace where Security and Defense operations must be guaranteed on the one hand and the reduction of flight times and therefore the reduction in terms of environmental impact (CO2 emissions) in favor of the expansion of commercial air traffic, on the other.
The activity is part of the multi-year collaboration between the Air Force and the National Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC), which formalized a Letter of Intent on this specific experiment last November, taking advantage of the experience gained by the Force Armata in the last twenty years of use of remotely piloted aircraft in the military field. In this context, the contribution that the Air Force provides with APR assets for reconnaissance and surveillance activities is significant and continues to grow, also in support of other departments such as for example for participation in public safety and protection activities civil and environmental monitoring.
In fact, since 2004, Italy has been the first European country to regulate the use of airspace to guarantee the multiple activities conducted by military APRs, acting as a reference in matters of certification, regulation and operational management.
The experimentation involved in-depth and timely planning of flight activities, with the involvement of all actors to guarantee, first and foremost, the safety of air operations in compliance with the principle of flexible use of airspace.
At an operational level, for this experimentation, ENAV and the Air Force Command, the top body which through its dependent bodies prepares the operational capacity of the Armed Forces also in the sector of "Air Traffic Control" and the management of national aerospace resource, have finalized an operational protocol for the coordination of the provision of Air Traffic Services, ensured by the military Air Traffic Controllers (CTA) of the AM Coordination and Control Services (SCCAM) of Rome and Brindisi.
The SCCAMs operate by law, within the respective ENAV Area Control Centres, in a unique organizational model at an international level, which thanks to co-location allows optimizing civil-military coordination, maximizing the use of space national aircraft, also guaranteeing experimental activities such as today's, which will support the legislative and regulatory evolution of a sector with very high potential such as that of remotely piloted flight serving the community.
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