The National Aerobatic Team (PAN) – known as the Frecce Tricolori – is the aerobatic team of the Italian Air Force. With its ten aircraft, the Italian team is the largest in the world, and also the most famous. Its aerobatic flight programme has made it a symbol of Italian excellence around the world.

With over sixty years of activity, the Frecce Tricolori are anchored to their history and a tradition that continues to inspire trust in institutions. However, their gaze is always turned towards the future, ready to seize the opportunities offered by innovation and technology.

The collaboration

KeyWe supports the Frecce Tricolori in their challenge to innovate with a technological project: a VR Experience with a dual purpose, both educational and entertaining. The project was born from discussions with Lieutenant Colonel Stefano Vit, Commander of the Frecce Tricolori.

KeyWe embraces the project, drawing on its experience in digital innovation tools such as Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality. The agency has already used these technologies in projects for international clients such as MSC, a world leader in shipping and logistics, and ABB, a multinational company operating in robotics and automation.

VR Experience: flight simulator

The consultancy project begins with the development of an immersive and engaging experience for visitors to the Rivolto air base (UD), home of the Frecce Tricolori. A phygital project, combining virtual reality digital technology with a physical installation within the premises.

The VR Experience offers a completely realistic and immersive virtual simulation of aerobatic flight. The installation consists of ten seats, arranged in the flight formation of the Patrol. Just like the jets in the formation, the seats are called “Ponies” and numbered from one to ten.

Visitors to the air base are invited to take a seat, put on the Meta headset and control the action with simple commands. Thanks to the immersive effect of the images and sound, the user finds themselves virtually in the cockpit of an aeroplane and enjoys the experience first-hand. The 360° view allows for greater realism, while the ability to choose between different geographical areas makes the experience more varied.

Virtual reality for training

In a second phase, the project evolved to create an immersive training tool for the Air Force. During the winter months, the pilots of the National Aerobatic Team undergo an intense period of training aimed at ensuring they can perform their assigned positions within the Frecce Tricolori formation in complete safety. Preparation is vitally important: performing complex aerobatic manoeuvres requires discipline, coordination and trust in the team.

Created thanks to close collaboration with the Frecce Tricolori pilots, the VR Experience is thus applied to the operational training of the PAN. Flight missions are recorded by a high-definition 360° camera located inside the cockpit. The high-definition footage can then be reviewed on the ground by the pilot in training wearing the headset; at his side, the instructor is able to view what the student is seeing on a monitor, moment by moment, and produce still images.

The tool is therefore of fundamental importance for optimising the training of Frecce Tricolori pilots, allowing the pilot to view manoeuvres, references for maintaining position and areas of the field of vision on which to focus their attention; this is all to the benefit of improving flight performance and saving aircraft hours.

Discover our VR Experience created for MSC