The Guardia di Finanza (GdF) is an Italian police organization with around 65,000 personnel involved in operations on the ground, at sea and in the air. As a financial and border policing agency, its primary missions are the investigation and prevention of financial crimes, and the defense and control of the borders, including detecting and stopping trafficking of drugs, weapons and people. Other main tasks involve aerial surveillance to detect illegal landfills and water exploitation or pollution. The GdF’s air and naval assets are fundamental to accomplish these tasks and, due to its daily presence in the air and at sea, search and rescue (SAR) activities are significant. The GdF is also used as support in time of national emergencies – for example, during the Covid-19 pandemic, when GdF planes and helicopters transported medicine, healthcare personnel, and patients in isolation units.

The GdF flies two configurations of helicopter: the UH-169A (the utility version with an entry-level configuration) and the MH-169A FOC (military version with full operative configuration). The UH-169A comes with wheeled landing gear and the MH-169A FOC is equipped with skid landing gear, increased power, and the latest generation avionics system called ATOS-RW/MMS, with a mission console for the management of day and night forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras and search radar.

The Pisa Air Section and the new MH-169A

The Pisa Air Section was founded in 1958 and is the first air section to receive two of the new MH-169As, which replaced the oldest AB412s in service.

The Pisa department is responsible for Tuscany, a vast and complex territory including the mountainous area of the Apennines; the hilly and flat areas that host Florence, Siena, Arezzo and Pisa; and the 230km-long coastal strip. The corresponding portion of the Tyrrhenian Sea also constitutes an operational area, which includes an archipelago of seven islands.

The captured images were taken during a mission at sea to monitor protected marine areas, to assist with maritime safety, and to monitor the coast in collaboration with two boats from the Naval Service at Livorno Station; and during a training mission with a Soccorso Alpino della Guardia di Finanza rescue team to familiarize them with the new helicopter, performing embarking and disembarking while hovering in a hostile mountain environment. 

Thanks to the increased performance of the new MH-169A and its compatibility for use with night vision goggles compared with the AB412, it is expected to increase the number of missions, both during the day and at night.