Italy has received its initial Lockheed Martin F-35A – the first example of the stealthy type to have been assembled outside of the USA.
The Joint Strike Fighter, aircraft AL-1, was handed over to the nation’s defence ministry on 3 December, during a closed-doors ceremony at Italy's final assembly and check out (FACO) facility at Cameri air base.
It will for now remain at the site for pilot familiarisation work, before being transferred in early 2016 to Luke AFB in Arizona, where it will support international training activities. During its flight to the USA it will be accompanied by an Italian air force Boeing KC-767A tanker.
Two of the service’s pilots have already begun receiving instruction on the JSF, and flew an F-35 for the first time on 6 November at Luke.
Rome’s second F-35A – AL-2 – will make its first flight from the Cameri site in the coming weeks, ahead of planned delivery in February 2016. This, along with three further Italian-completed examples, will also subsequently transfer to the USA. Aircraft AL-6 will be the first Italian-assembled JSF destined for a front-line unit, with the delivery milestone scheduled for the end of 2016.
In addition to final assembly work, the Cameri facility – which is owned by the defence ministry but operated by Alenia Aermacchi – also produces wing shipsets for the whole F-35 programme. Three full wing assemblies have been delivered so far, with a least another dozen in varying stages of completion.
Italy has previously indicated its intention to acquire 90 JSFs, including 60 conventional take-off and landing F-35As for the air force and 30 short take-off and vertical landing F-35Bs, to be split equally between the air force and navy.
However, so far it has placed firm orders for just eight A-model aircraft. An April 2015 defence white paper suggested a purchase of 38 examples in the period to 2020, after which Rome will consider placing additional orders.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
