The government wants to buy 24 Eurofighter F-2000 Typhoon fighters for 7.4 billion. What it looks like
They will replace 26 so-called 'Tranche 1' Eurofighters, which will be decommissioned as of 2028 as they are obsolete. In parallel there will be the decommissioning of the Tornados: this last step should be completed in 2027
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Key points
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Finally, the last piece of information also arrived. On 4 July, the government sent to the third Foreign Affairs and Defence committee of the Senate and to the fourth Defence committee of the Chamber of Deputies a request for a parliamentary opinion on the ministerial decree scheme for the approval of the multi-year A/R programme no. SMD 01/2024 (A.G. 176), concerning the acquisition of 24 F-2000 aircraft and the technical and logistic support of the entire fleet. The document is accompanied by technical and illustrative sheets. The cost of the programme is EUR 7.4 billion.
The Procedure
.In fact, the Code of Military Order (Legislative Decree 66 of 2010) provides that draft decrees that concern programmes financed through ordinary budget appropriations and not merely related to the maintenance of endowments or the replenishment of stocks must be forwarded to the Chambers, in order to obtain the opinion of the competent Commissions. Opinions must be delivered within forty days from the date of allocation to the Commissions. If the Commissions express an unfavourable opinion, the Government sends the draft decree back to Parliament, this time accompanied by the necessary counter-deductions. The purpose of this step is to obtain the final opinions of the Chambers, within thirty days from their assignment. If, within this deadline, the competent Commissions express a contrary opinion by an absolute majority of their members, justified with reference to the lack of consistency with the provisions of the multi-year Defence Planning Document, the programme cannot be adopted. In any other case, the government may proceed and adopt the decree.
What the programme includes
.In this case, therefore, the multi-year programme submitted to the parliamentary committees concerns the purchase of 24 F2000 aircraft and the related technical and logistic support for the entire fleet. As the government specifies in the technical data sheet attached to the SMD 01/2024 decree, the programme aims to make 24 advanced-standard aircraft available to the Air Force, which will take the place of 26 fighters (Eurofighter aircraft known as 'Tranche 1'), which will be decommissioned as of 2028 as they are now obsolete. In parallel there will be the decommissioning of the Tornado fighters: this last step should be completed in 2027.
The characteristics of the Eurofighter F-2000 Typhoon
.To date, the Italian F-2000 fleet acquired consists of 27 tranche 1 aircraft; 47 tranche 2 aircraft and 21 tranche 3 aircraft, for a total of 95 fighters. The F-2000 is an advanced fourth-generation multi-role military aircraft ('Swing Role') capable of covering a broad spectrum of missions even during the same sortie. The F-2000 ensures round-the-clock defence of national airspace with Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) missions and contributes to the security of Nato with both Air Policing and Enhanced Air Policing missions. It can also be deployed in missions of: Offensive & Defensive Counter-Air (OCA- DCA); Air Power Contribution To Land Operations (APCLO), both Air Interdiction (AI) and Close Air Support (CAS); Intelligence, Surveillance & Recoinnaissance (ISR) and Joint Personnel Recovery (in the role of RESCORT). The Eurofighter F-2000 Typhoon programme is the result of an international cooperation with Great Britain, Germany and Spain for the production of an air superiority fighter. The aircraft has already been exported (Austria, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait) and several export campaigns are still in progress (Poland, Egypt, Turkey).
Industrial and employment impact
.Finally, with regard to industrial profiles and the return in terms of employment, the factsheet explains that the sectors involved are mainly those of high technology in the aerospace, mechanical and electronics areas. The involvement of qualified supply chains of sub-systems and semi-finished products is also emphasised, characterised by the presence of numerous SMEs operating in the entire complex of industrial sectors: aeronautics, electromechanics, iron and steel, and electronics.
