Italy, training centre for F-35 pilots: expanding defence project

The government aims to create a hub in Italy for training F35 pilots. At the 102nd anniversary celebrations of the Italian Air Force, held on 28 March at the 'Mario de Bernardi' military airport at Pratica di Mare, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto confirmed the plan to create a training centre in Italy for F-35 pilots. Italy, he recalled, "where there is a real production line outside the United States. I hope that in the near future, alongside Decimomannu, there will also be training for F35 pilots,' the Defence chief said at the time.

And in a recent interview with La Stampa, the defence chief claimed: 'We are the first country in the world able to produce F35s, apart from the US, and the only one where pilots will be trained because the US cannot do it alone. That programme,' he added, 'is proof that you can buy from them but have economic and industrial returns greater than what you have spent'.

According to 'Italian Defence Magazine' (RID), the International Flight Training School (IFTS) in Decimomannu (Cagliari), born from the collaboration between the Italian Air Force and Leonardo, will remain dedicated to the advanced training of pilots for 4th and 5th generation jet aircraft. It is probable that another facility will be chosen, also in southern Italy. The Minister's words, however, do not affect the Air Force's plan to base a LIGHTNING II Group at the Sardinian base in the near future, as announced by General Luca Goretti over a year ago, a programme that remains solid. The F-35 Lightning II is a fifth-generation multi-role fighter aircraft with strong stealth (low observability by radar systems) and net-centric (interconnection of all available communication, information and data exchange systems) characteristics.

The Defence Multi-Annual Planning Document for 2024 - 2026 on the subject of the F-35 has outlined the strategy: to increase the fleet from 90 to 115 aircraft in total. This means an additional 25 fighter jets, for an additional expenditure of 7 billion euros. The Italian F-35 fleet is therefore expanding. Around 2040, explains a report by Iai, the Air Force is likely to operate with more than 180 upgraded F-35s and Eurofighters, coinciding with the introduction of the Gcap, consolidating its position as one of the most advanced air forces in Europe.