The new government assumes the reduction of F-35

11/03/14

In the cuts of the tax wedge, the Renzi government hypothesizes to reduce the number of F-35 of which Italy had previously decided to purchase. After the well-known events regarding the formation of the government, the diatribe on the acquisition of the F-35 Lightning II fighters has therefore become relevant again.

As always, it is not easy to evaluate decisions, but to better understand them we must go into the matter. The US government allowed other nations to participate in the development of the newborn fighter and identified possible cooperation levels in 3. At the second level there are the Italian industries with investments equal to over 2 billion dollars.

The Lightning has reached operational capacity in the 2012, and is currently the only new generation stealth fighter available on the market, along with the F-22, but burdened with prohibitive costs. The object of the dispute is the practical functionality of the aircraft; the F-35 appears to be the subject of a long series of malfunctions that limit its operational capacity and therefore, at the initial cost, it would add maintenance fees. Economic interests are crucial, as many Italian companies are involved in the development: from Alenia aeronautica, to Piaggio, via Selex-Marconi, Gemelli and ending up at OtoMelara. A production division of 18 groups with significant social capital and thousands of workers employed, Alenia alone has more than 11.000.

The design mainly concerns the wing box, F136 engine components, the turbine casing, the EOST optronic, the GAU-22 / A cannon, the trolley, the wings and more.

The choice of partnership originated from the need to replace the old AV-8 Harriers on our aircraft carriers. With these they have in common an essential peculiarity for their use: they are V / STOL aircraft, therefore the only ones capable of taking off and fitting on our surface units.

Even the aeronautics is interested in the F-35, to complement the more powerful Eurofighter and to replace the outdated AMX and Tornadoes.

Perhaps it is not the best solution, there are aircraft far more suited to our air force, but they are indispensable for the Navy. Although the Italian partnership is high, the project remains firmly to the Americans, therefore for updates or simple maintenance, it would be necessary to resort to the main manufacturer with a further increase in costs, this because in the partnership contract, we are only suppliers.

It should be emphasized that this is a thirty-year collaboration, the operating cycle of an aircraft, so the expenses would be diluted over time and part of these would return as jobs, estimated at about ten thousand, in the form of orders. In fact the agreements mainly concern the assembly of those purchased from Italy and this would take place at Cameri airport.

Ultimately, once the strengths and weaknesses have been analyzed, the government will have to choose whether to stay in line with the technological advances of the allied armed forces, with which we are confronted in international missions, facilitating ourselves with an operational capacity that covers the next thirty years, or remain a step back. It remains valid, therefore a compromise on the number of F-35s to be purchased, naturally with the knowledge that they must be made operational, thus reducing them to the quantity necessary to replace the Harriers, in the hope that they will be sufficient to satisfy our international commitment.

In conclusion, in a framework of strategic alliances and economic dynamics at a global level, the F-35, although full of defects, seems to be the only solution to recover the ground lost by the Navy aviation in the present and future commitments of our military team to guarantee and support democracy and freedom in the world.

Giovanni Caprara

(photo: Lockheed Martin)