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ILA 2022: Italy’s F-35 Experience – Part 2

What Can Germany Learn from Italian Know-How?

ILA Show Daily’s interview with Col Luca Vitaliti, Head of the Italian Air Force F-35 Management, Sustainment and Integration Office, concludes. For yesterday’s Part 1, click here.

SD: Take us with you into a simulated combat flight, if you will. How is it flying the F-35 and what improvements over Tornado and Eurofighter do you most value?

 Vitaliti: In combat, F-35 pilots experience an immediate feeling that pilot and aircraft system are integrated as a single fighting organism, in complete symbiosis. The F-35 Gen III Helmet Mounted Display System (HMDS) provides a remarkable contribution. It gives immediate and intuitive access to flight, tactical, and sensor data to enhance situational awareness, precision, and safety of operations. The HMDS is the primary display system for the pilot, and provides sight through the bottom of the fuselage or directly at a target with virtually enhanced capabilities supporting visual targeting. The pilot can target by simply looking at targets, correlating the cues with the onboard sensors or datalink.

 Additional capabilities, in relation to previous generation aircrafts, certainly include:

  • the ability to collect large amounts of data and information in real time, from a variety of sources: ships on the surface, aircraft in flight, fighters, support or Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft, satellites, ground forces. Collected data are distributed in real time to other platforms or forces, and to the C2 This ensures a unique contribution to overall situational awareness, at tactical, operational, and strategic levels, for information superiority and a strategic advantage in current and future military operations;
  • the possibility of stowing weapons internally, which preserves low visibility and improves aerodynamic performance, compared to previous generation aircraft, whose load hung externally;
  • the significant quantity of fuel in internal tanks gives an unmatched operational range and endurance, limiting the need to use tankers or Forward Operating Bases;
  • as already mentioned, in addition:
    • The F-35 is stealth by design. Shape, engine, materials, onboard systems and surfaces are designed to keep radar and IR signatures at the minimum possible level. Very advanced on-board sensor technology and low observability are distinctive elements that enhance effectiveness, survivability and situational awareness;
    • data fusion technology ensures achievement of complete situational awareness more quickly.

SD: Germany will be seeking partners to assist with the introduction of the F-35, and maybe also training and maintenance afterwards. How could Italy be the preferred partner? What can you offer?

 Vitaliti: Among the European partners, Italy offers strong potential for pilot, maintainer, and support staff training, for the development of Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (TTPs), integration, interoperability, and standardisation. The national Operational Training Infrastructure (OTI) is certainly the most tested and most responsive to 5th-generation standards in the Euro-Mediterranean. The F-35 programme is a (US) Special Access Program, through which access to state-of-the-art technology has been granted to a set of partner countries first, and, subsequently, to FMS Users. It redefines the standard of concrete and operational cooperation in a secure environment, under strong US government and industry leadership.

 Italy has been one of the major contributors to the partnership since its earliest stages of development, subsequent production, and now support and modernisation – over almost quarter of a century. Thanks to the relevant investments, Italy has managed to provide the programme with a Regional Technological Trivalent Hub, contributing to production activities, major components and assemblies manufacture, and for activities in support and continuous modernisation of the regional fleets.

 Italy believes it has already contributed – not just financially – and, in synergy with all other nations, can continue doing so in an even more significant and decisive way, to further increase the success of the global programme, especially at the Euro-Med regional level; it is also convinced that the collective success of the entire programme coincides with that of the individual participating nations. So we firmly believe that, under US government and industrial leadership, we can certainly meet Germany’s requirements: first in the US, for initial training needs then, eventually, in Europe, should user and prime elect to do so.

SD: With Italy, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, Switzerland and Germany as users, where do you see additional potential in Europe for collaboration? What are you doing together with other partners already?

Vitaliti: F-35 users work closely together. Being part of the JSF programme makes cooperation, integration, interoperability, and standardisation a lot easier. We have activities and forums going on in Europe, involving also North American and Pacific F-35 users. Our focus is on sharing lessons learned and solutions to enhance operational effectiveness in joint and combined operations, in a multi-domain environment. The F-35 also enhances the capabilities of previous generation systems. I see strong potential for additional collaboration in Europe, because the F-35 is becoming, globally, one of the backbones of our defence and security.

The Italian OTI can respond to 5th-generation system requirements for training and exercise. Important components of our infrastructure are airspace, air-to-ground and EW ranges, providing adequate fidelity and density of threats, procedures, and C2 structures. The level that we have reached makes Italy an ideal place for large fleet flying exercises and cross-servicing activities in the fields of maintenance and sustainment. In fact, in June last year, the ItAF organized Falcon Strike 2021 at the Amendola base, a multinational flying exercise taking place in the national OTI. This year, the 2022 iteration will take place  in November, also at Amendola. The exercises provide joint and combined training in a multi-domain environment, with the primary objective of providing valuable training for 5th-generation systems, conducting air operations in a highly contested and congested multi-domain tactical environment, and practicing maintenance cross-servicing between F-35 users.

 The last Falcon Strike exercise saw participation from F-35s from the US (USAF and USMC aircraft operating from a British aircraft carrier), the UK and Israel. Considering the high-end objectives of the exercise, Belgium and Poland also participated as observers. Overall, some 60 aircraft participated, flying over 450 sorties over ten days, including 350 air-to-air refuelling operations and accumulating about 1,500 flight hours.

 The ItAF wants the National OTI infrastructure to be seen by partners and allies as the ‘European OTI South Pole,’ aimed at providing a modern training environment capable of replicating the challenging present and foreseeable scenarios characterising air and space operations, specifically in the multi-domain environment. The infrastructure already ensures the availability of adequate airspace, the presence of ranges (EW, air-to-ground, air-to-air) in close proximity to MOBs. The Italian OTI also provides training opportunities through modeling and simulation facilities. With such a combination of features, therefore, OTI represents the ideal playground to host major national and international exercises.

 Regarding aircraft sustainment and modernisation, the F-35 programme offers partners and FMS customers a strategic approach on a scale never reached before – the Global Support Solution. The construct is based on three main regions (North America, Euro-Mediterranean and Asia-Pacific) within which the program – based on best value – has established collective depot level facilities for airframe, engine, components, training, and warehousing, as well as global transportation and delivery solutions.

Exploiting decades of ceaseless commitment, the F-35 partnership is now delivering and sharing in Europe and across the globe an unprecedented level of operational success, and we expect this trend to continue in the future, with more nations joining the programme, to improve even further the already unmatched economies of scale of the F-35 programme.

 More specifically, the programme has lived out its first 20 years mainly within the continental US, with the aim of developing the weapon system we now are equipping our forces with. It is now time to rebalance the programme, by investing in the Euro-Med and Pacific regions. In this respect, we believe, under the US government and industry leadership, there will be plenty of opportunities for contributing to greater and greater programme success, both in the field of interoperability and for solutions to make sustainment increasingly affordable and effective.

SD: What can you tell us – even though you do not represent the manufacturer – about the Italian production site and the potential options for production slots for Germany?

Vitaliti: Italy plays a relevant role in the European Region with the Cameri F-35 Trivalent Technological Hub, which makes a state-of-the-art Final Assembly and Check Out Facility continuously available to the enterprise, together with the Wing Factory and the Regional Maintenance Repair Overhaul and Upgrade Facility. While F-35 demand is increasing rapidly, especially in the European Region, with many potential customers with broadly similar delivery timeframe requirement, this asset represent a resource for the enterprise, as it effectively contributes capacity to Lockheed Martin global production rate and goals, which will soon be over 150 aircraft per year.

 More specifically, Lockheed Martin and the enterprise optimise their production planning, to best satisfy the F-35 nations’ requirements, regardless of where aircraft are ultimately delivered.

 Customers could take advantage of this opportunity by requesting, for instance, US production for aircraft that, based on the initial training requirements, will operate in the US, while European customers in particular, in exchange for minor flexibility to meet Lockheed Martin’s available production capacity, could choose the Regional Final Assembly Facility for those aircraft intended to remain in Europe, thus avoiding costs and risks associated, for instance, with transoceanic transfers, while also starting to build up relevant relationships in the region, further strengthening the European leg of the programme, to their own benefit and that of the entire enterprise.

 In this context, if Germany elects to produce its aircraft in Cameri, the Joint Program Office, Italy and Lockheed Martin will discuss and agree with Germany the best solution to best accommodate the nation’s requirement.

 SD: Why is Italy operating both F-35As and F-35Bs?

Vitaliti: The JSF aircraft is produced in three variants:

  • The A variant, Conventional Take-Off and Landing (CTOL): in active service in many Western air forces, including the US Air Force and the Japanese Air Self Defence Force (JASDF). The ItAF fleet will consist of 75 F-35As;
  • The B variant, Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing (STOVL): designed both for operations on austere runways and embarked operations on naval units, such as LHA/LHD/CV (amphibious assault ships and aircraft carriers). Used, in addition to the Italian Navy and Air Force, by the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy, the USMC and the JASDF. Italy will operate a fleet of 30 F-35Bs, 15 each for the ItAF and the Navy;
  • The C variant, Carrier Variant (CV): a naval version with foldable wings, reinforced landing gear and increased fuel capacity. Used on USN aircraft carriers equipped with a catapult system.

 32 Wing, at Amendola, operates the F-35As and, from February 2020, the F-35Bs that provide advanced air expeditionary capabilities for Italian defence. The B version provides additional flexibility for air power projection in the Area of Operations.

 In fact, in operational theatres in general, there is normally a limited number of runways suitable for use for conventional take-off jet aircraft. Normally, there is a larger number of smaller airfields – approximately ten times more. Therefore, the STOVL capabilities of the F-35B add additional flexibility and agility. They give the option to deploy in proximity to the crisis area from the very early stages, to operate and to collect information, preparing for the subsequent operations of the whole force package on its deployment.

For the F-35B, Italy has developed a specific ‘Air Expeditionary’ concept, and a force package dedicated to support the rapid projection of the F-35B. This package is composed of air mobility assets, also providing air-landed aircraft refueling points, force protection, communications and information systems, and command and control.

Dawn patrol. (Aeronautica Militare, Troupe Azzurra)

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Publish date

06/26/2022

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