Stealth Superpower: Italy Will Soon Have 115 F-35 Fighters
Summary and Key Points: Italy is expanding its defense capabilities by purchasing 25 additional F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets and 24 new Eurofighter aircraft.
-The new F-35 order includes 15 F-35A and 10 F-35B variants, with the F-35Bs being split between the Italian Navy and Air Force.
-This move will bring Italy’s total F-35 fleet to 115, making it the fourth largest user of the jet. Along with these acquisitions, Italy is also increasing its overall military spending by nearly 17% to $10.3 billion.
-The new Eurofighters will replace aging aircraft by 2029, further bolstering Italy’s defense.
Italy Expands Fleet with 25 More F-35 Stealth Jets and New Eurofighters
Last week, an Italian aircraft carrier sailed alongside U.S. Navy warships in China’s backyard in the South China Sea.
Rome is a stout U.S. ally and a NATO member, and it continues to invest in its defense capabilities.
In its latest round of investment, the Italian military will be buying more F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets, as well as new Eurofighter aircraft.
More F-35 and New Eurofighters
According to a military spending document revealed earlier this week, the Italian military will purchase an additional twenty-five F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter jets, as well as new Eurofighter aircraft.
Specifically, the Italian military will purchase fifteen F-35A and ten F-35B variants of the aircraft.
According to Defense News, the Italian military plans to split the use of the additional F-35Bs between the Italian navy and air force, while all the F-35As will be flown by the Italian air force.
The F-35 Lightning II comes in three versions (A, B, and C) differentiated mainly by the way they take off and land. The F-35A is the conventional take-off and landing version used by most air forces around the world. The F-35B is the Short, Take-off, Vertical Landing (STOVL) version that can take off and land like a helicopter but fly like a fighter jet. Finally, the F-35C is the carrier version of the aircraft, designed to operate from aircraft carriers.
Mainly due to the complexity of the STOVL mechanism, the F-35B is the most expensive version of the aircraft, with a price tag per fighter of around $135 million. On the other end, the F-35A is the most affordable version of the F-35, with a cost of $110 million per aircraft. (The F-35C, used only by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, costs $117 million per jet.)
Italy is one of the largest users of the F-35, with sixty F-35As and thirty F-35Bs. With the new additions, the Italian military will reach 115 aircraft and become the fourth largest user after the U.S. (total order of 2,456 jets), Japan (147 aircraft), and the United Kingdom (138 aircraft).
It is likely that Rome will come back and order more aircraft from Lockheed Martin. In its initial planning, the Italian military envisioned a fifth-generation fleet of 131 aircraft. That number was subsequently cut to 90. With the intention to buy 25 aircraft now, Rome will be only 16 aircraft away from its initial goal.
The Italian air force will also be getting 24 new Eurofighter fighter jets to replace its aging fleet by 2029.
Alongside other NATO members like Greece and Poland, Rome is increasing its defense spending. The latest figures reveal new military spending of approximately $10.3 billion, an almost 17% increase from last year.
About the Author:
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
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