- Yes
- No
0 voters
Description: The F35 is a stealth fifth-generation Fighter-bomber. Its story with Italy began in 2002, when Italy joined the American JSF (Joint Strike Fighter) program. At that time, Italy was looking for the aircraft that would replace the Panavia Tornado after 2020, and the F35 was the answer. The Italian air force In 2009, the Italian parliament approved the project to build a total of 131 F35s in the facility of the Air Base of Cameri. The first prototype, the AL-1, rolled out of the hangar in 2015, and it flew for the first time in 2016. It performed the first transatlantic flight (from Italy to the USA) in history. Italy is the first country after the USA to operate the F35, and it’s one of the few with a home production of this aircraft. Continuing with its history, unfortunately, back in 2019, the party in charge at that time reduced, for not very intelligent political reasons, the number of F35 from 131 to 90. The number of F35As delivered for now is 23, and they are increasing every one or two months. From their entry into service, they took part in all sorts of international and NATO missions with other countries. The biggest number of commissions were with the USA and UK. The Italian F35A are also deployed in Iceland to protect NATO airspace, and they will be deployed in Japan this week. All the Italian F35 were upgraded to the latest standard (Block 3F), and they will be upgraded in the future to Block 4 and all the other upgrades. A very good news for the Italian fleet of F35 is that, thanks to the change of government, the commander in chief of the Italian air force pushed for the return to the original number of F35, 131. It’s very likely that the number will increase and return to 131, but we will probably have to wait until next year.
Why it should be in the game: It will be with the Eurofighter the top of the Italian fighter aircraft. It will be very powerfoul and it will be crucial for the Italian TT in the future.
Specifications:
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Wingspan: 10.6 m
Length: 15.4 m
Height: 4.6 m
Wing area: 42.7 m2
Maximum speed: 1.6 mach
Operating ceiling: 15,240 m
Range: over 1100 km
Propulsion plant: 1 Pratt & Whitney F135 turbofan of 191kN (with afterburner)
Internal fuel weight: over 8000 kg
Crew: 1
Armament:
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Cannons:
1x 25 mm GAU-12 cannon
Bombs
6x GBU-12
6x GBU-32 JDAM
6x GBU 31 JDAM
8x GBU-39/B
8x GBU-39 A/B
8x GBU39 B/B
Air To Air Missiles:
4x Aim-120 C-5
4x MBDA Meteor
2x Aim-9X Block 2
Air to Ground missiles:
8x SPEAR 3
8X SPEAR EW
4x AGM88E
Sources:
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RID - Rivista Italiana Difesa)%20risultano%20attualmente%20consegnati.
AGM-88 HARM - Wikipedia
Fuori dall'hangar il primo F-35 italiano
Check Out These New Photos Of The Italian F-35A and B Flying Together In “Beast Mode” For The First Time - The Aviationist
Over There
Scheda del velivolo F-35
Tutti gli affari che farà Lockheed Martin in Italia - Startmag
Funding secured to complete missile integration on UK and Italian F-35 fleets
Italy, UK to complete Meteor, Spear missile integration on F-35 fleets | News | Flight Global
Italy And UK Are Integrating New European Weapons On The F-35 Lightning II - The Aviationist
https://defencenews.quora.com/BAE-Systems-MBDA-to-arm-UK-Italian-F-35-Jets-with-SPEAR-Meteor-Missiles
AvioBlog - Gli F-35A e B italo-britannici potranno utilizzare presto missili METEOR, ASRAAM e SPEAR3
BAE Systems and MBDA to Fit UK and Italian F-35 Fleets With New Missile Systems - Overt Defense
L’Aeronautica vuole riportare gli F-35 a “quota 131” – Analisi Difesa
The Italian Air Force Wants The Next-Gen Fighter And The Original F-35 Quota To Be Restored - The Aviationist
New missile types for British, Italian F-35s – Defense Here
Italian F-35s Will Get AIM-9X Block II Air-To-Air Missiles - The Aviationist
https://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/home/noi-siamo-l-am/personale-e-mezzi/
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