Simulation, at the heart of the International Flight Training School

Paolo Valpolini

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While real flight remains the core, as it is of crucial importance to fully validate the student pilot especially in the last phase of the course, simulation represents half of the activity, as currently the IFTS totals around 30 to 35 flight sorties per day, the same number of mission being “flown” on simulators

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LVC, for live, virtual, constructive, is the most used acronym at Decimomannu. Our visit starts from the RTMS, the Real Time Monitoring Station, where the battle manager can follow on the screen and via radio all the action. The map on the screen shows the Sardinia Island with its five airports, the only one close to the IFTS base being Cagliari, which runway is only around 25 km south-east of Decimomannu.  However the main training area remains remote, as it affects the southwestern part of Sardinia; it extends mostly over the sea, and overlaps the firing ranges of Capo Teulada, around 60 km west-south-west of the IFTS air base, and the Capo Frasca range, around 60 km north-west of Decimomannu.

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Moving to the debriefing room, here the screens are able to show all what a student does, ranging from how he or she moves the stick, uses the throttle, up to what can be seen in the cockpit, on the head-up display (HUD), on the (simulated) radar, etc. It is possible to see the mistakes that were done, analyse the causes, and illustrate how to avoid such mistakes.

“Coming to real simulators, industry provides civilian instructor pilots as well as logistic support,” Stefano Centioni, a former Italian Air Force fighter pilot on the AMX, and then a member of the “Frecce Tricolori” aerobatic team, now head of IFTS civilian pilots, tells EDR On-Line. Himself part of Leonardo, the company gets the instructors civilian manpower from ACS (Aeronautical Consulting & Solutions), a Florence-based company, while logistic support is ensured by AJT (Advanced Jet Training), the 50/50 joint venture between Leonardo and CAE. Among the instructor pilots’ community, around one third is working solely on simulators, these being either specialised in that role or experienced pilots who are not anymore fit for flying jets.

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Initial familiarisation and training are carried out on two types of devices, the CBT (Computer-Based Training) and the SBT (Simulator Based Training). Sixteen of these procedural simulators are available to student pilots; SBTs are Windows-based systems with an 8K resolution touch screen, which realistically represent the T-346A cockpit but are not the hardware copies of it, although they are fitted with HOTAS identical to those found on the aircraft.

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A low-cost item, the SBT is available 24/7 to students, who can access it via their personal password and can rehearse and repeat lessons done during the day, all activities being recorded and then considered by instructors. In SBTs, student pilots find two main areas, lessons and flight; one of the main uses of such systems is for example the emergency handling, emergency listing being an over 200 pages document, the system allowing student pilots to go through them as many times as they need. Both CBTs and SBTs are not part of the LVC ecosystem, as they are considered training systems. Two Unit Level Training Devices (ULTD) are also available. These are in fact simulators, as they fully represent the T-346A cockpit and are equipped with a curved screen that reproduces the landscape. These ULTDs were also used by Leonardo to promote the M-346 in some of the major air shows. However, they too are not part of the LVC ecosystem.

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The real simulators, which allow to “play” the game as they are fully connected to the scenario that sees real T-346A in flight and computer-generated assets, are available in two forms, Part Task Trainers (PTTs) and Full Mission Simulators (FMSs). The only difference between the two is the dome, which in the PTT covers 270°, while in the FMS it covers the full 360° hemisphere. At the IFTS we find three PTTs and two FMSs. Following current simulation trends, no motion system is adopted; the acceleration feeling is provided by the seat, the aircraft cockpit being perfectly reproduced in both types of simulators, and by the anti-g suit. Being part of the LVC, student pilots “flying” those simulators can be put in a network including T-346A in flight, the overall scenario being completed by instructors who can vary weather conditions, insert Red Air threats, air defence threats, emulate electronic warfare jamming, and even send the trainee into a refuelling orbit to meet a tanker, before entering the combat zone.

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All training and simulation devices are linked through the TMIS (Training Management Information System), where all data related to real flight missions are also filed, allowing instructors to have a full view on each student pilot profile. According to statistics provided by Leonardo, in 2022, when the activity at Decimomannu started in July, simulators delivered 2,300 hours flight, which increased to 5,400 hours in 2023, and to 6,075 hours in 2024; in late May 2025 the IFTS simulators had already totalled 6,670 hours, which means 30-35 simulated missions per day, the system having totalled over 20,000 hours since mid-2022. If the trend continues 2025 might see for the first time the IFTS training and simulation system step over the 10,000 hours mark, a sign that in the current year the school has really reached its full operational capability.

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“We must however not rest on our laurels,” Stefano Centioni warns; “Currently we are probably the leading organisation in pilots training, but our competitors are moving, so we must look forward.” Among innovations, EDR On-Line could witness the adoption of a virtual reality head-mounted display on the ULTD, one of the student pilots being equipped with a Varjo X-4 Secure Edition which provides a 4K definition and a 120° x 105° field of view.

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This system is still in the experimental phase, but it should be adopted soon, further improving the quality of the ULTD simulation. The other step is the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) in many of the training and simulation tools. Initially AI will be added to CBTs and SBTs and will partly replace the instructor in tutoring the student pilots along their path, humans always maintaining a say both in the monitoring phase and, more importantly, in the evaluation phase. And moving further to the right, the nearly 50/50 split between real flight and simulation might well see the latter taking a greater share of the overall training time in the near future.

Photos by P. Valpolini

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