Sweden has become the latest country to sign up for the military flight training services offered by the Italian air force, contracting for the tuition of 100 students and four instructors over the next decade.

The deal is covered by an agreement signed on 4 December by the head of the Swedish air force Major General Jonas Wikman and his Italian counterpart Lieutenant General Luca Goretti.

M-346 IFTS

Source: Leonardo

International Flight Training School operates 22 M-346s

Basic training will be carried out at the Italian air force’s 61st Wing in Galatina air base in the south of the country, while advanced-level instruction will be conducted at the International Flight Training School (IFTS) at Decimomannu in Sardinia.

The agreement provides for a constant inclusion of student pilots from the Swedish air force over the next 10 years.

Previous countries to opt for the IFTS – a strategic partnership between airframer Leonardo and the Italian air force – include Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the UK.

Flight operations at the IFTS are performed with a fleet of Leonardo T-346A advanced jet trainers, while the site also boasts extensive ground-based training assets.

Dominic Perry is deputy editor of Flight International but also contributes extensively to flightglobal.com. Although specialising in the coverage of the helicopter industry, he has written on most topics in aerospace – be they commercial, defence or business aviation. In addition, there has been an increasing focus on the decarbonisation of the industry and zero-emission flight initiatives.View full Profile

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