On Thursday 17 October, the Undersecretary of State for Defense, the Hon. Angelo Tofalo accompanied by the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Air Force, general air team Luca Goretti and by gen. from Giandomenico Taricco, director of the IV department of the general secretariat of Defense / DNA, went to Cameri, at the Multipurpose Center Aerospace Aircraft (Ce.Po.VA) where it welcomed a delegation from the Republic of Poland that arrived in Italy at the invitation of the Italian political and military authorities. Leading the delegation, also including the Polish National Director of Armaments, gen. Karol Dymanowski, the Deputy Minister of Defense, mr. Marek Łapiński.
Arriving at the Cameri Military Airport, the host authorities visited the industrial plants where the head of the aircraft division of Leonardo SpA, ing. Lucio Valerio Cioffi, welcomed them by accompanying them to visit the facilities of the Final Assembly and Check Out, FACO di Cameri.
After attending an introductory briefing by gen. Taricco on the existing and future collaboration activities between Italy and Poland, and a presentation on the capabilities of the FACO by Eng. Cioffi, the delegation visited the factories for the assembly and production of the components of the F-35 aircraft with particular attention to the line dedicated to "full wings".
After the visit to Cameri's premises, the Deputy Defense Minister Łapiński wanted to express words of thanks for the welcome received, with a heartfelt appreciation for the technical-industrial excellence expressed by the FACO itself.
The activity then continued at the Turin Caselle site where the Leonardo Company was able to illustrate its products and capabilities, also with reference to rotary wing assets.
The Cameri plant is expected to produce 835 "full wings", that is the wings and the central part of the fuselage, of the entire program. The plant was also chosen as the facility for the maintenance of F-35 aircraft for the entire Euro-Mediterranean area, including Italy.
