Japanese Military Signs IFTS for Pilot Training

Japan has also chosen to send its military pilots to complete their operational training at the Italian Air Force’s and Leonardo’s International Flight Training School (IFTS). The technical agreement was signed in "distance mode”, through a connection between the offices of the two Generals: Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, General Alberto Rosso, and the Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF). Japan is the third country, after Qatar and Germany, to choose the International Flight Training School (IFTS) for its pilots.

With this agreement, the Japanese military pilots will take part in the advanced training courses (Phase IV) at IFTS. The IFTS is a joint project made by Italian Air Force and Leonardo, that includes also an industrial partnership between Leonardo and CAE for the maintenance/support of the aircraft fleet and simulators.

Japan's interest in the training capabilities developed by the Italian Air Force was consolidated after a series of discussions and initiatives that culminated in a visit to the 61st Wing at Lecce-Galatina Air Force Base in September 2020. This was when a JASDF delegation was able to appreciate the Italian Air Force’s training system, particularly the Integrated Training System developed by Leonardo and centered around the T-346A aircraft.

The newly signed technical arrangement enables a gradual increase in JASDF student pilot intake over the forthcoming years. In the future, Japanese instructors could be welcomed into the school to work side-by-side with Italian colleagues, in an approach that favours the exchange of experiences, the optimization and standardization of procedures, to benefit all the operators in the sector.

The Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, General Alberto Rosso, before signing the document, underlined its profound significance: “This is another important step in the collaboration between our Air Forces: we are already cooperating with great success in many areas, for example having common platforms such as the F-35 aircraft and the KC-767 tanker."