Marina Militare 

The main roles of Maristaeli Luni are to provide logistical support, training and standardisation of crews for the two Gruppo Elicoterri. In addition, it supports ship-embarked aircraft and those deployed in operational theatres. The main tasks of the two Gruppo Elicoterriare to maintain the operational readiness of air and maintenance crews and their aircraft, whose roles involve them operating primarily in the anti-surface and anti-submarine roles. The units also support the 1stSan Marco Regiment, an amphibious unit of the Italian Navy (Italian Marines).

The MMI operates a total of 18 EH-101s in three versions. Six are in the Anti-Surface/Submarine Warfare (ASuW/ASW) configuration, locally designated SH-101A. Four are in the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) configuration and are locally known as EH-101A. A total of eight airframes are in the Amphibious Support Helicopter (ASH) configuration, popularly known as the UH-101A. In 2000, the MMI placed an ordered for a total of 46 NFH90 and 10 NH90TTH helicopters to replace the Agusta-Bell AB-212 that has been in service with the Italian Navy since April 1976. Local designated the SH-90A and MH-90A, these state-of-the-art helicopters give a welcome boast to the capabilities of the Italian Navy.The composite airframe and fly-by-wire technology provides a huge step-up in capability over the AB-212.

Navy training

Part of the base infrastructure are two very important units that take care of training of both pilots and supporting crew. Aircrew has the ability to train in theAgustaWestlandEH-101 simulator. Delivered in 2011, the Full Mission Flight Simulator (FMFS) and Rear Crew Trainer (RCT) provide a complete training environment for EH-101 crews of all versions, enabling both student pilots and experienced crews to familiarise and maintain efficiency with the aircraft. In addition, it allows crews to practice emergency cockpit procedures, night-vision goggle training, ship deck landings and tactical mission training. The RCT part of the simulator mirrors the rear cabin of the Anti-Surface Warfare (ASW/ASuW) version of the EH-101 and is being used to teach and maintain tactical crews in operating all the sensors, avionics and software systems in the aircraft. The FMFS and RCT can both be used independently or can be networked to offer a realistic mission training environment for the EH-101 pilots and sensor operators. Unlike EH-101 crews, the NHIndustries SH-90 crews at Luni don’t benefit from having a simulator on base and therefore have to use one of NHIndustries’ simulators.

MaristaeliLuni also operateswhat is known a "helo-dunker". The building that houses theSurvival Training Centre has a large swimming pool with the helo-dunker being used for underwater escape training. A mock-up of a helicopter cockpit and cabin is suspended from a large steel girder and can be plunged into the pool and then flipped over in a variety of positions. It is used to train crews to escape from a helicopter in an upside-down position after impacting with the water in a simulated accident. Responsible for the Survival Training Centre, Commander Rambelli explained; “Once a year,pilots and crew need to go through the training course to stay current on their survival capabilities. The two-day course consists of a theoretical part and a “wet” part, where pilots and crew get hands on training with increasing difficulty. We train 450 to 500 pilots and crew members every year and we have over 20 years of experience”. The initial training of new pilots and crew takes four days for the Navy and three days for the Air Force. “This is due to the Air Force not using oxygen bottles within their training syllabus” as Commander Rambelliinformed.“We not only train Italian Navy aircrew but we have a wide range of operators such as Air Force, Polizia, Carabinieri, Coast Guard and also Leonardo crew and apart from that we have also trained aircrew from foreign countries. The Hellenic Navy has been training in our facility from many years and as of 4 February 2019, we started training the Qatar Navy as they are in the process of acquiring the NH-90. This is a multi-year training programmewhich we have started up them”.

The authors would like to thank the Italian Navy for their help in preparing this article. A special thanks goes out to Commander Fossati, NAS Luni executive Officer and all the men and women of 1º Gruppo Elicoterri and 5º Gruppo Elicoterri.

Text and photos: Erik Bruijns and Mark de Greeuw

A UH-101A breaks low over the sea

Flying in close formation low over the sea is key for the different missions both Gruppo Elicoterri perform 

The Italian Navy operates in harsh conditions; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 

The late January sun gives a dramatic view on both types of helicopters in service with the Italian Navy

To provide compatibility with the EH-101 helicopters, the Italian Navy selected the General Electric T700-T6E1 turbo-shaft engine