The Italian air force is to establish its own electronic warfare (EW) test facility at the joint test range of Salto di Quirra, or PISQ, in Sardinia. To open next year, the range will relieve the air force of some of its current overseas activities, including operations in France and the UK.
The Italian Joint Staff decided in 2002 to improve the capabilities of its sole experimental test range, which is used to test radars, air defence systems, aircraft, unmanned air vehicles and to conduct training for the Italian armed forces' special forces units.
Air force and army officers recently gained experimental qualifications at the Air Force Experimental Centre at Pratica di Mare near Rome ahead of a significant expansion of the PISQ range's technical capabilities.
The Sardinian site also conducts work for external institutions and will monitor development activities for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian aerospace agency for a space re-entry vehicle. It will also this year host a flight campaign involving Galileo Avionica's developmental Falco UAV.
PINO MODOLA/GENOA
Source: Flight International
