focus

IFTS, ten U.S. Air Force pilots are training in Decimomannu

22 October 2025

Ten United States Air Force cadets have begun their training at the International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Decimomannu (Cagliari, Italy), born from the collaboration between the Italian Air Force and Leonardo, a global benchmark for advanced pilot training.
 


Starting on 8 September 2025, the Decimomannu air base, home to the International Flight Training School, is hosting the first “Multiphase Jet Training” course, the result of an agreement signed in August between the Italian Air Force and the US Air Force. The programme will enable ten US Air Force cadets – the first American pilots to train outside the United States – to obtain their military pilot licence on Leonardo's M-346, designated T-346A by the Italian Air Force.

The agreement marks a new milestone in the consolidation of IFTS's international role, confirming its leading position in international aeronautical training. The Decimomannu school is capable of training over eighty pilots per year, thanks to innovative technologies such as that on-board of the M-346 and the integration of real and virtual flight experiences.

The International Flight Training School

IFTS was born in 2018 from a strategic collaboration between Leonardo and the Italian Air Force, with the aim of creating an advanced flight training centre for military pilots from air forces around the world. Today, the academy is an international benchmark offering a new model of education and training that has already been chosen by 15 countries (Italy, Saudi Arabia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Qatar, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Spain, the United States, Sweden, Hungary and Croatia).
 


Combining the experience and tradition of the Italian Air Force in the field of military flight training with Leonardo's technological innovation, IFTS trains pilots for the so-called phase 4, “Lead-In to Fighter Training”, the most advanced stage of the training syllabus, which prepares them for flying front-line fighter aircraft. Equipped with state-of-the-art training facilities, the Decimomannu campus has 22 M-346 aircraft, a logistics and maintenance centre with hangars and a flight line, as well as a comprehensive Ground Based Training System (GBTS). There, thanks to a full set of innovative and immersive simulation systems, students are trained in an environment that combines real and simulated reality, thanks to Live, Virtual and Constructive (LVC) technology.
 

  • Live, Virtual and Constructive


    Technology that allows students in flight to interact with pilots at the simulator as part of the same training mission.

    The LVC system is based on the synthesis of “real and virtual”, which merge into a single operational scenario. It allows complex and dynamic scenarios to be reproduced involving up to ten aircraft, which interact as if they were all flying in the same airspace, and allows pilots to operate simultaneously and in combination in three modes: Live (real flight), Virtual (various types of simulators) and Constructive (interfacing with all types of computer-generated forces, both friend and hostile).

    The goal is to create an immersive, realistic and sustainable training experience that reduces costs and environmental impact without compromising operational effectiveness.
     


The integrated training system developed by Leonardo for IFTS is centered around the M-346 Advanced Jet Trainer and the associated GBTS, world benchmark for training pilots destined for latest-generation fighter jets. The M-346 is equipped with avionics aligned with operational fighter standards and on-board integrated simulation capabilities, allowing complex tactical scenarios to be replicated in flight.

 

Ground training is based on a complete suite of simulators:

Simulation Based Trainers (SBT)

for initial training

Unit Level Training Device (ULTD)

for flight and navigation procedures training with augmented reality and artificial intelligence

Part Task Trainer (PTT)

for specific training

Full Mission Simulator (FMS)

for advanced training missions


The campus is also designed to minimise environmental impact, with energy-efficient buildings, sustainable management systems and residential facilities for both students and staff.
 

> 130,000 square metres

> 130,000 square metres

total area, of which 35,000 square metres is covered

22 M-346 aircraft

22 M-346 aircraft

and seven advanced simulators

> 80 pilots

> 80 pilots

trained each year

> 8.000 flight hours

> 8.000 flight hours

and 8,000 hours of simulation per year

40 instructors

40 instructors

among military personnel and civilians

> 160 students

> 160 students

qualified by 2025, two-thirds of whom will be non-Italian


Leonardo guarantees operational support for IFTS by providing integrated logistical support services for aircraft and simulator fleets, flight instructors and campus management services. In addition, Leonardo CAE Advanced Jet Training, a joint venture established in 2021 through international collaboration with CAE, supports Leonardo in the services it offers.