At the following link photos and videos of the event:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Tq1lkQIhu37pB_AR8PolEemkmCZM6cl8?usp=sharing
Today, September 12, at the Istrana base (TV), home of the 51st Wing, the welcome back ceremony for the Air Force’s North America Tour personnel was held, which took the Frecce Tricolori to the most iconic places in North America from the beginning of June to the past few days. On this same occasion, the Leonardo M-346 was presented as the new aircraft that will replace the MB-339PAN in the coming years, and the livery specially designed by Pininfarina designers.
The ceremony was held in the presence of the Vice President of the Senate Senator Gian Marco Centinaio, the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, the Chief of Defense Staff Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and the Chief of the Air Force Staff General SA Luca Goretti, as well as all the most important civil and religious authorities of the territory.
The Italian Air Force’s “North America Tour 24”, which began in June and concluded in recent days, saw the National Aerobatic Team as the protagonist of 9 air shows and 17 flyovers, in iconic locations in Canada and the United States, sharing the Air Force’s values, technology, professionalism and teamwork with thousands of spectators.
The Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto, speaking at the ceremony, underlined: “This day teaches us that the future is built with daily preparation, with the work of many people, with synergy and the ability to see far”. The Minister addressed his thanks to the personnel involved in the “North America Tour 24”, underlining the role they played for the country: “You are a symbol, a manifesto, you represent the Frecce Tricolori who are a piece of the soul and heart of each of us, of our history and our pride”. In his speech, the Minister also underlined the role of Defense and the importance of always being at the forefront in a world that has changed. “I am here today” he said “to remind us of the importance that we as Armed Forces have had and will have for our country”.
On the sidelines of the event, General Goretti explained: “The Acrobatic Team is not only the Air Force, but the whole of Italy. The effort has been considerable, because behind these very demanding activities there is a large number of people who work intensely, but the result and the passion are the engine that keeps us going and makes us proud of what we do. This applies to the North America Tour of the Frecce, as well as to all those complex activities that keep us busy every day, even at a great distance from the mother country, as recently happened for the Indo-Pacific Air Campaign in which numerous air assets and units of the Armed Forces took part”. Commenting then on the future of the Frecce Tricolori, he explained that “we must remain faithful to the tradition of the Acrobatic Team, with figures that are part of its history, which will certainly remain”, but also that the performance of the new aircraft will make “the Italian imagination even more fervent in drawing new and exciting figures in the sky”.
The participants in the ceremony were able to take part in a historic moment for the Frecce Tricolori and the Air Force itself, witnessing the presentation of the new aircraft that will replace, in the coming years, the glorious MB-339PAN.
Strengthening the role of the Frecce Tricolori as testimonials of Made in Italy and the country’s excellence, in line with the principles that have always characterized the PAN, this time too an aircraft entirely designed and produced in Italy was chosen, the Leonardo M-346, already at the basis of the Air Force syllabus (with the designation T-346A) for the advanced training of pilots destined for fourth and fifth generation tactical aircraft.
The new aircraft also presented its livery, specially designed by Pininfarina for the Italian Air Force, which develops the theme of the “renaissance of the tricolour”, enhancing the beauty and fluidity of the flight of the arrows through a design capable of transmitting to the public the sensation of speed and dynamism, while maintaining a strong link with the tradition that, for more than 60 years, has distinguished the aircraft of the National Aerobatic Team.