F-35 - The Italian Perspective

Italy’s Navy-Air Force tussle over the F-35 comes to a head
21 Oct 2020 Tom Kington

"ROME — A long-running tussle between Italy’s Air Force and Navy over the F35-B jet is coming to a head as deadlines approach for deciding who gets the next aircraft to roll off the production line and where it will be based. Italy’s planned order for 30 of the short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing aircraft is to be split by the services, with each receiving 15, in addition to the 60 F35-As ordered for the Air Force. After the first two of Italy’s F35-Bs went to the Navy and the third to the Air Force, a decision is due, possibly within weeks, on who gets the fourth one next year as the two military branches jostle for primacy on the program.

The Navy sees the “B” version as essential for replacing its aging AV-8 jets on its Cavour carrier, while the Air Force wants the jet for expeditionary missions overseas where it can be flown off short runways.

“There has been a tug of war between the Navy and the Air Force over who gets the jets first, but from a practical point of view the navy may have a right to the next one,” said Alessandro Marrone, senior fellow at the IAI think tank in Rome. “Once the Navy gets it, it will have three F35-Bs and can start operations from the Cavour, which will immediately boost its capabilities and make a difference to Italy’s military capabilities,” he added.

A senior defense source who backed the Navy to get the next jet said: “The Cavour already faces challenges deploying with the AV-8s, which do not have Link 11 and are due to end their operational life in 2025.” He added: “Carriers are often brought in at the very start of military operations and have to have maximum efficiency, and with Brexit approaching, Europe will lose U.K. carriers and can only rely on France’s Charles de Gaulle and Italy’s Cavour, which hosts obsolete aircraft.”...

...The two Navy F35-Bs were sent after delivery to the United States to participate in training at Beaufort Air Base in South Carolina and are due back in Italy at the end of 2021, the defense source said. In the meantime, the Cavour was due at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, in the United States in November to attain certification for hosting the F35-B with the help of U.S. test aircraft. The onset of the coronavirus pandemic has pushed the visit back to the spring of next year, the source said...." [then la-de-dah about where to base F-35Bs canvassed in earlier posts]

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... to-a-head/

Another fight between respective Air Forces and Navies over the F-35B! Honestly, considering Italy only plans on acquiring just "30" aircraft. They should "all" go to the Italian Navy. As they would need every aircraft just to support the INS Cavour (CV) and INS Trieste (LHD).


If, the Italian Air Force wants the F-35B in addition to their F-35A. They should take less of the latter or buy additional F-35B's.

Italy defense budget rebounds despite coronavirus crisis
28 Oct 2020 Tom Kington

"...The budget was drawn up by defense minister Lorenzo Guerini, a member of the center-left Democratic Party which governs in a coalition government with the anti-establishment Five Star party. Since first entering government in 2018, Five Star has softened its anti-military stance, which saw it initially push to scrap the F-35 program.

This year, the F-35 program receives €800 million to help conclude the purchase of the first 28 of Italy’s planned 90 aircraft buy. A further €126 million is also budgeted to get the purchase of the next 27 aircraft underway...."

Source: https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... id-crisis/

MiG-31...!
https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news ... n-nato-ops

Italy demonstrates F-35 air defender credentials on NATO ops
09 JULY 2020 by Gareth Jennings
The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana: AMI) has demonstrated the air-defence credentials of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), with the commander of the current NATO Iceland Air Policing mission declaring the aircraft’s “effectiveness” in the role.

Speaking to reporters during a ‘virtual’ media event hosted by NATO, Colonel Michele Cesario said that the six F-35A aircraft that have been flying the Icelandic Air Policing mission since early to mid-June have proved to be “extremely reliable” in the quick reaction alert (QRA) role. He added that that this second national deployment of the type on this mission had underlined the AMI’s recent decision to employ the aircraft in the air-defence role as well as for ground attack.

“I can confirm the reliability and the effectiveness of this aircraft for this particular task,” Col Cesario said of the experience so far of the AMI’s Operation ‘Northern Lightning 2’ in Iceland.
The colonel’s comments on 8 July came on the back of the first real-world ‘Alpha’ Scramble by any F-35 against Russian military aircraft. This event saw a pair of AMI F-35s launch a QRA sortie out of Keflavik airbase on 3 July, intercepting and shadowing three Tupolev Tu-142 ‘Bear-F/J’ long-range maritime patrol aircraft, one Ilyushin Il-78 ‘Midas’ tanker, and an undisclosed number of MiG-31 ‘Foxhound’ escort interceptors that were flying in international airspace close to Iceland.

http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/comuni ... olo_3.aspx (Language is italian. Used google translate)

NORTHEN LIGHTNING
RETURN TO ICELAND
A few months after the first deployment, the Air Force F-35s returned to Iceland for a new NATO Air Policing operation.
July 3, 2020, the scramble siren sounds; the crews and technicians begin the "race" to allow the F-35As of the Italian Air Force to take off as quickly as possible. A few minutes pass and two 5th generation fighters detach the cart from the Keflavik runway; a few more minutes and the second couple is flying too. The order for immediate take-off, scramble in jargon, is the operations room of the CAOC (Combined Air Operations Center) of Udem in Germany which has detected some unidentified aircraft heading towards Icelandic airspace. The CRC (Control & Reporting Center) in Keflavik, where local personnel work together with Italian controllers, guides the first two F-35s towards the aircraft to be identified while the other two are stationed in CAP (Combat Air Patrol) to defend the Icelandic coasts. These are three Russian Tu-142MK / MR Bear F / J aircraft escorted by a MiG-31 fighter group from the Northern Fleet which, as the Moscow Defense Ministry will later declare, were carrying out a mission over the neutral waters of Barents. the Norwegian Sea and the North-East Atlantic. No transponder, the device that emits an identification code, nor flight plans nor communications with civil traffic bodies; a series of shortcomings that raised the alarm in the NATO operations room. It is the first Alpha scramble, the real one other than the "Tango" that is carried out to train the personnel, of the "Northern Lightning II" operation which started in early June. Another "first" for the Armed Force which, first as part of a NATO operation, carried out a real scramble with 5th generation aircraft. For the F-35A of the 32 ° Stormo it is a return to Iceland a few months later and always in the context of NATO Air Policing operations. Also on that occasion the Italian aircraft "conquered" another record given that it was the first operational use of a 5th generation aircraft in the context of a real operation of the Alliance.

Welcome Cavour.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... b-upgrade/

Italian Aircraft Carrier ‘Cavour’ Completes 16 Months F-35B Upgrade
The Italian Navy's Cavour aircraft carrier left the Arsenale Militare Marittimo (Maritime Military Arsenal) of Taranto after completing a 16 months refit and upgrade period to operate F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.
Martin Manaranche 20 May 2020
At first light of dawn, the aircraft carrier Cavour left its berth at the Military Maritime Arsenal of Taranto on May 6. 2020. The extraordinary opening of the Ponte Girevole allowed the ship to cross the navigable canal and leave the Mar Piccolo, after a long work stop at the Arsenal, to return to her berth in the Mar Grande of Taranto.
Cavour completed a maintenance and modernization period of 16 months during which she was also brought dry in the dry dock “Edgardo Ferrati”, one of the largest basins in Europe. Thanks to the synergy created between the Arsenal’s workers, the specialized companies and the contribution of the technical staff of the Navy and the crew on board, the flagship of the Navy completed – on schedule – all the works, including the adaptation to the standards for the new F-35B aircraft.
Despite the COVID-19 emergency, therefore, with a crew necessarily reduced to the essential in compliance with the measures aimed at counteracting the risk of contagion, the aircraft carrier crossed the navigable channel with a complex and delicate precision manoeuvre. The ship, 244 meters long, 39 meters wide and with more than 27,000 tons of displacement, is the largest ship to have crossed the navigable channel since the war, in fact its dimensions are the maximum possible for transit; at the narrowest point of the channel, the lateral distance from the dock was about 7 meters. With seafaring expertise the crew conducted the manoeuvre, using a special superstructure mounted in the middle of the flight deck, leading the unit towards the open sea. The transit was also assisted by the support of the staff of the Naval Station, the port tugboats and pilots and the staff of the Southern Maritime Command.

“The return to sea represents an important goal for Cavour ship, after 16 months of stopover, of which the last two faced with the difficulties arising from the pandemic linked to COVID 19” ,
“But with the right procedures and adequate security measures, put in place by the Navy, we were able to complete the work and return the ship to the service of the country”.
Captain Marco Casapieri

The aircraft carrier will complete the technical tests in the coming weeks, at the end of which an intense training period will begin.
-Ends-
Naval News comments:
Technical interventions carried out on board the aircraft carrier included the overhaul of the flight deck with a new deck coating. This was necessary to limit the thermodynamic impacts when the F-35B STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant will take off and land.
Later this year, the Cavour aircraft carrier will face a preparatory training period ahead of its departure for the United States where it will conduct some integration tests with the F-35B. These activities will represent the first important steps for achieving the Initial Operational Capacity of the aircraft carrier with its renewed Italian Naval Aviation capability.
The Cavour upgrade phase started a month after the second Italian Navy’s F35B – individual registration code 4-02 – took off from the Cameri (Novara) Final Assembly and Check Out plant FACO to make its flight to the United States. The aircraft final destination was MCAS Beaufort, in South Carolina, where the aircraft joined the first F-35B (4-01) in supporting the training of the F-35B Italian pilots and technicians.
The Italian Navy ordered a total of 15 F-35B fighter jets. The Italian Air Force has the same amount on order (in addition to about 60 F-35A models).

Sea trials will be held soon.
https://insidedefense.com/insider/initi ... ft-carrier

Initial F-35B sea trials to take place on Italian aircraft carrier
By Aidan Quigley / October 21, 2020 at 11:00 AM
The Navy will hold the first F-35B sea trials onboard the Italian aircraft carrier Cavour before the end of the calendar year.
"This event will collect data necessary to establish the flight bulletins for Cavour F-35B flight operations," Brandi Schiff, the spokeswoman for the joint program office, told Inside Defense.
Schiff said that Italy, a cooperative partner of the program, will be participating in the sea trials with the F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF). The Cavour is the flagship of the Italian navy.
"Planning and coordination between the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (F-35 JPO) and the F-35 ITF is ongoing," she said.
The sea trials were laid out in a contract modification with Lockheed Martin late last month.
The $245 million modification also extended services and added hours "in support of engineering, maintenance, logistics manpower and material support to continue to develop, sustain and produce software builds as well as carryout developmental flight tests for the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in support of the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and non-Department of Defense (DoD) participants."

EXERCISE
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/comuni ... t2020.aspx (Language is italian. Used google translate)

F-35: THE 2ND STORM AND THE 13TH GROUP OF THE 32TH WAS TRAINING TOGETHER IN THE "LIGHTNING 2020" EXERCISE
30 OCTOBER 2020 Source 2 ° Stormo - RivoltoAutore Cap. Francesco Mariella
For the second time the Rivolto airport identified as a redeployment base
On Monday 19 October 2020 at the military airport of Rivolto (UD), home of the 2 ° Stormo, with the landing of four F-35 aircraft, coming from the 32 ° Stormo di Amendola (FG), the exercise began " Lightning 2020 ".
For two weeks, the aircraft of the XIII Group operated from the Rivolto airport making several daily sorties to reach the "Polygone" electronic shooting range in Germany, and to operate with the air defense systems available at the 2nd Wing.
The entire exercise event represented an important training opportunity for all the articulations of the 2nd Wing committed to guaranteeing full technical-logistical and operational support to the personnel of the 32nd Wing cell.
In particular, for the entire duration of the campaign, the Missile Group of the 2nd Wing was engaged in conducting SBAD (Surface Based Air Defense) operations, simulating a realistic electronic warfare scenario that opposed the SIRIUS, i.e. the new missile system of recent assignment to the Italian Air Force, to the F-35 aircraft, engaged in the specific SEAD (Suppression Enemy Air Defenses) and DEAD (Destruction Enemy Air Defenses) missions.
The "Lightning 2020" exercise ended on Friday 30 October with the return of the F-35 aircraft to the Amendola air base (FG).
The 2 ° Stormo is the entity identified by the Armed Force to perform the function of missile reference point for the national air defense system. Lo Stormo takes care of the training and operational readiness of men and vehicles in the missile sector of the Italian Air Force. This mission takes the concrete form of continuous training aimed at maintaining the operational readiness required by the Armed Force and by the transnational organizations of which the country is part. The Stormo also ensures the regular performance of airport services and the maintenance of infrastructures and systems, also in favor of the 313rd "Frecce Tricolori" Acrobatic Training Group operating on the basis and anything else necessary for the transit of other aircraft, competing also, in compliance with the directives issued by the Higher Authorities, to the Air Defense service.
The 32 ° Stormo based in Amendola (Foggia) is one of the Air Force Flight Departments dependent on the Rome Air Squad Command through the Milan Combat Forces Command. First department in Europe to acquire F-35 aircraft, it also carries out operational, training and technical activities of the Predator remotely piloted aircraft, in order to acquire and maintain the ability to carry out national and coalition ISTAR operations. Furthermore, it provides and completes, through MB-339 aircraft, the training of UAV pilots in order to ensure an adequate level of training on traditional piloted aircraft. Furthermore, since March 2018, the F-35 aircraft of the 32 ° Stormo di Amendola have also been integrated into the Air Defense system, contributing with specific operational capabilities and latest generation technology to the defense of the Italian skies.

https://www.aviation-report.com/esercit ... -defenses/ (Language is italian. Used google translate)

Lightning 2020 Exercise: Italian F-35s train on SEAD (Suppression Enemy Air Defenses) and DEAD (Destruction Enemy Air Defenses) missions with the 2nd Wing and on the "Polygone" electronic shooting range in Germany
Drafting of Aviation Report 3 November 2020 Air Force, Exercises, Military News
On Monday 19 October 2020 at the military airport of Rivolto (UD), home of the 2 ° Stormo, the "Lightning 2020" exercise began which saw the use of four F-35 stealth aircraft coming from the 32 ° Stormo di Amendola. For two weeks, the aircraft of the XIII Group operated from the Rivolto airport making several daily sorties to reach the "Polygone" electronic shooting range in Germany, and to operate with the air defense systems available at the 2nd Wing. The "Lightning 2020" exercise ended on Friday 30 October with the return of the F-35 aircraft to the Amendola air base (FG).
The entire exercise event represented an important training opportunity for all the articulations of the 2nd Wing committed to guaranteeing full technical-logistical and operational support to the personnel of the 32nd Wing cell.
In particular, for the entire duration of the campaign, the Missile Group of the 2nd Wing was engaged in the conduct of SBAD (Surface Based Air Defense) operations, simulating a realistic scenario of electronic warfare that opposed the SIRIUS, that is the new missile system recently assigned to the Air Force, to the F-35 aircraft, engaged in the specific SEAD (Suppression Enemy Air Defenses) and DEAD (Destruction Enemy Air Defenses) missions that the F-35 will take in charge also in anticipation of the radiation of the Tornado ECR aircraft of the 6th Flock.
The 2nd Wing of the Italian Air Force
The 2nd Wing is the entity identified by the Armed Force to perform the function of the missile reference point of the national air defense system. The Wing takes care of the training and operational readiness of men and vehicles in the missile sector of the Italian Air Force. This mission takes the concrete form of continuous training aimed at maintaining the operational readiness required by the Armed Force and by the transnational organizations of which the country is part.
The Stormo also ensures the regular performance of airport services and the maintenance of infrastructures and systems, also in favor of the 313rd "Frecce Tricolori" Acrobatic Training Group operating on the basis and anything else necessary for the transit of other aircraft, competing also, in compliance with the directives issued by the Higher Authorities, to the Air Defense service.
The 32nd Wing of the Italian Air Force
The 32 ° Stormo based in Amendola (Foggia) is one of the Air Force Flight Departments dependent on the Rome Air Squad Command through the Milan Combat Forces Command. The first department in Europe to acquire the fifth generation Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth aircraft, it also carries out operational, training and technical activities of the Predator remotely piloted aircraft, in order to acquire and maintain the ability to carry out national and coalition ISTAR operations.
It also provides and completes, through MB-339 aircraft, the training of UAV pilots in order to ensure an adequate level of training on traditional piloted aircraft. Furthermore, since March 2018, the F-35 aircraft of the 32 ° Stormo di Amendola have also been integrated into the Air Defense system, contributing with specific operational capabilities and latest generation technology to the defense of the Italian skies.

Next Month. I am hoping that many wonderful photos will be taken.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ext-month/

Italian Navy Aircraft Carrier Cavour To Start F-35B Qualification Next Month
The Italian Navy (Marina Militare) flagship, the aircraft carrier ITS Cavour, is set to reach Naval Station Norfolk in mid-February to start F-35B STOVL aircraft qualifications with the U.S. Marine Corps.
Xavier Vavasseur 12 Jan 2021 Additional reporting by Luca Peruzzi
This was announced by Captain Gianfranco Vizzini, Naval Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Washington DC, during the Surface Navy Association (SNA) 2021 virtual Symposium.

“The major issue for 2021 is the ITS Cavour, our major carrier, that will be deployed here in the United States for what we have called ‘Ready for Operation Campaign’ that consists to achieve the qualification and to conduct joint and combined maritime operations by embarking F-35 Bravo air assets. The campaign will be executed in close cooperation with the U.S. Navy but especially U.S. Marine Corps. The unit is expected to arrive in Norfolk in a few weeks, actually half of February.”
Captain Gianfranco Vizzini

The Italian Navy officer added that for the following six weeks (after its arrival in the United States), ITS Cavour will be trained by a USMC detachment that will be embarked, to become an aircraft carrier qualified with the F-35B.

“As you know, the Italian Navy has acquired a total of 15 F-35 Bravo that will be delivered to the Italian Navy in accordance with the company’s schedule. The next airplane will be actually delivered in April therefore it could be the first F-35 Bravo that will be embarked onboard the Italian carrier”
Captain Gianfranco Vizzini

Following some verifications with various Italian sources, Naval News understands that the aircraft reference above by Captain Vizzini will be delivered in April in Italy and therefore will be the first Italian F-35B to land on ITS Cavour once the carrier is back in Mediterranean waters… meaning the aircraft used for the qualification campaign in the United States should all belong to the U.S. Marine Corps or Joint Program Office.

Cavour – F35B upgrade
For the record, the aircraft carrier Cavour left the Arsenale Militare Marittimo (Maritime Military Arsenal) of Taranto in May 2020 after completing a 16 months refit and upgrade period to operate F-35B Joint Strike Fighters.
Technical interventions carried out on board the aircraft carrier included the overhaul of the flight deck with a new deck coating. This was necessary to limit the thermodynamic impacts when the F-35B STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) variant will take off and land. In addition to the structures, equipment and flight systems of the deck, the ship’s island compartments, hangar, equipment store, aviation fuel storage, data distribution network, sensors and electronics were also modified and upgraded. This was required for the integration and flight operation of the F-35B from ITS Cavour.
The Cavour upgrade phase started a month after the second Italian Navy’s F35B – individual registration code 4-02 – took off from the Cameri (Novara) Final Assembly and Check Out plant FACO to make its flight to the United States. The aircraft final destination was MCAS Beaufort, in South Carolina, where the aircraft joined the first F-35B (4-01) in supporting the training of the F-35B Italian pilots and technicians.
The Italian Navy ordered a total of 15 F-35B fighter jets. The Italian Air Force has the same amount on order (in addition to about 60 F-35A models).

A and B the Beast Mode. Wow
http://www.aeronautica.difesa.it/comuni ... diOTE.aspx (Language is Italian. Use Google Translate)

F 35: CONSOLIDATION OF OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES AND OPERATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION (OT&E) ACTIVITY CONTINUES.
29 JANUARY 2021 Source 32 ° Stormo Author Major Daniele Trifance
On January 28, 2021, personnel of the 32nd Wing and the Experimental Flight Department, deployed on the Decimomannu airport, conducted a mission with two F-35As and one F-35B in the configuration known in jargon as "Beast Mode", for activities release of inert armament at the Experimental and Joint Training Polygon of Salto di Quirra (PISQ).

The mission, carried out in the continuation of the operational training activities and the continuous OT&E (Operational Test and Evaluation) activity of the 5th Generation Weapon Systems, allowed to verify the simultaneous release of laser-guided weaponry from F-35A and F-35B, as well as the first opportunity for the F-35B variant to practice the release of GBU-12 armament. The activity was conducted during the redeployment of a component of the 13th Flight Group of the 32nd Wing at the Decimomannu base, to verify for the first time the capabilities of the weapon system and personnel to operate in "Split Ops" , i.e. simultaneously and at a fast pace on the Main Operating Base (MOB) and Deployement Operating Base (DOB). The success of the activity was possible thanks to the teamwork of the men and women of the various departments involved and the careful coordination of operations.

The 32 ° Stormo, based in Amendola (Foggia), is one of the Air Force flight departments dependent on the Rome Air Squad Command, through the Milan Combat Forces Command. First Department in Europe to operate with the F-35A aircraft which, since March 2018, has been integrated into the National Air Defense system, contributing to the defense of the Italian skies with specific operational capabilities and latest generation technology. After achieving the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) in 2018, from 2019 it participates in NATO Air Policing Operations outside the national borders. From February 2020 the 32 ° Stormo is the only Department on the international scene that jointly uses both F-35A (CTOL) and F-35B (STOVL) contributing, with the 5th Generation aircraft, to the Expeditionary capacity of the Armed Force. Furthermore, using the Remotely Piloted Aircraft MQ-1C and MQ9-A, it carries out both national and coalition Intelligence Surveillance Target Acquisition Recoinnissance (I.S.T.A.R.) operations. Through MB-339 aircraft he completes the training of APR pilots to maintain an adequate level of training on traditional piloted aircraft.

The Salto di Quirra Experimental and Joint Training Range and the Capo San Lorenzo detachment employee constitute a single operational area for the execution of advanced training and experimentation activities, which allow the Armed Forces and national and foreign industrial realities to test to test, experiment and innovate the new systems used by Defense in the interest of national security and to achieve the objectives of the country system.

Travel.
https://defbrief.com/2021/01/30/italian ... 5b-trials/

Italian aircraft carrier en route to US for F-35B trials
By Defense Brief Editorial - January 30, 2021
Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour departed Gulf of Taranto in Southern Italy on Friday and is en route to the US East Coast, where it will practice operating the F-35B fifth-generation fighter jets from its deck.

ITS Cavour got underway after a dry-docking overhaul at the Taranto navy yard, which took a little over two years to complete.
The carrier undocked in November 2019 with the ability to operate F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft thanks to a special thermion coating, among other modifications, that allow the carrier’s deck to handle the extreme heat generated during the vertical landing or take-off of a F-35B aircraft; a procedure that can expose the landing spot to close to a thousand degrees Celsius.
ITS Cavour had been expected to sail to the US naval base Norfolk last summer, but these plans were affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. The trip will allow the carrier to obtain certification to operate F-35Bs, which will be in service with both the Italian Air Force and Navy, in addition to a larger number F-35A conventional take-off and landing aircraft. In all, the country will fly 60 F-35As and 30 F-35B fighters.
During the trials along the US coasts, the crews and teams of testers and engineers of the Joint Strike Fighter Integrated Test Force will verify the compatibility and integration of the new aircraft on board the aircraft carrier, using all the subsystems and sensors on the ship.

“This deployment will have important implications on a strategic-military level for the defense ministry and for the country on the international scene. Italy, in fact, will become one of the few countries in the world, together with the United States, Great Britain and Japan, capable of demonstrating an aircraft carrier capability with 5th generation combat aircraft,” the ship’s commanding officer Captain Giancarlo Ciappina said.
The Italian Navy expects Cavour to reach initial operational capability with the F-35B in 2024. F-36B is replacing the AV-8B Harrier II STOVL aircraft which have been in service with the Italian Navy since the 1990s.
It is worth noting that once the ship is cleared for F-35B operations, the Italian Navy will join the US and the UK Royal Navy as the third navy worldwide capable of operating the fighter from a navy ship. Japan is expected to follow suit after it completes the process of turning its two 248-meter Izumo-class helicopter destroyers into platforms capable of operating STOVL jets.
What is more, South Korea will also have such a capability with the development of the country’s first ever aircraft carrier. South Korea announced the undertaking earlier this year.

F-35B Landed Aboard Italian Navy Aircraft Carrier ITS Cavour For The First Time

Two F-35B Lighting II jets landed aboard Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550) on March 1st, marking a first for the Italian Navy...

Italian Navy press release

Departed on February 28 from the base of the US Navy’s Second Fleet in Norfolk, the Cavour ship has started the “hot” phase of the “Ready for Operations” campaign. The first landing of a US Marine Corps F-35B aircraft on the deck of the Navy aircraft carrier represents a fundamental step in the long and complex certification process for the use of the new aircraft.
The completion of the “Sea Trials” phase of sea trials, which will last in the Atlantic Ocean for about four weeks, will allow the flagship of the Naval Team to test the flight deck and verify the impacts with the fifth-generation aircraft in key take-off and landing moments in different trim conditions and in relation to various factors such as winds and the state of the sea, to arrive at the final certification of “Ready for Operations”...




https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... irst-time/

Thanks 'zerion' - good to see the progress and <sarc on> no melting deck <sarc off>.

"F-35B aboard Italian aircraft carrier Cavour. Italian Navy picture" https://g7a6v6x7.rocketcdn.me/wp-conten ... 24x683.jpg

https://g7a6v6x7.rocketcdn.me/wp-conten ... Time-2.jpg (3.1Mb)

it's beautiful.....
Other articles.
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/390255/f- ... ft-carrier

F-35Bs Begin Sea Trials Aboard Italian Navy Aircraft Carrier
WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN, UNITED STATES 03.01.2021 Story by F-35 Joint Program Office Public Affairs
WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN — Two F-35B Lighting II jets landed aboard Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550) this afternoon.
Test pilots flew the specially instrumented U.S. F-35Bs from Naval Air Station Patuxent River (NAS Pax River), Maryland, to the Italian Navy flagship, which got underway Sunday, February 28. The F-35B is the short take-off and vertical landing variant of the F-35.

The pilots and aircraft join a test team of approximately 180 personnel from the NAS Pax River-based F-35 Integrated Test Force (ITF) embarked for up to four weeks of sea trials.
“Our team has trained extensively to prepare for this day, and I was honored to land one of the first two jets aboard Cavour,” said F-35B test pilot U.S. Marine Maj. Brad Leeman, the ITF test team project officer.
Maj. Leeman and two other pilots attached to the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) at NAS Pax River, will fly the ITF jets during the flight test.

“The ITF plays a key role in the ship achieving carrier qualification in the near future,” Leeman said. “All of our hard work planning and training will ensure a successful sea trial and ultimately lead to Italy achieving the milestone of initial operating capability.”
Today’s milestone, or pietra miliare, was the landing of the F-35Bs aboard Cavour.
“It is a remarkable achievement for all of us, today, to see the fifth-generation fighter aircraft on our flight deck,” said ITS Cavour Commanding Officer Italian Navy Capt. Giancarlo Ciappina. “This represents, indeed, an outstanding success but, at the same time, a new challenge for the future of Italian Naval Aviation.”

“Each and every officer and the whole crew are very proud to work closely with the F-35 Joint Program Office test team during these sea trials, and we are very well prepared to do the hard work to equip ITS Cavour and the Italian Navy with the Joint Strike Fighter’s fifth-generation air combat capability,” Ciappina said.
With the pilots and jets on board, the test team will now collect data that will ultimately lead to the ship’s officers’ and crew’s ability to safely conduct carrier operations with Italy’s own F-35s.
“We are excited to be underway with the crew of Cavour and honored to contribute to the aircraft carrier achieving the Italian Navy’s strategic goal of it being ‘Ready for Operations,’” said Andrew Maack, F-35 Pax River ITF chief test engineer and site director. Maack is embarked with the team, whose members have the engineering and test pilot expertise and experience to conduct F-35B envelope expansion flight test. “We look forward to a phenomenally successful shipboard detachment,” he said.

https://www.marina.difesa.it/media-cult ... _f35b.aspx (Language is Italian. Use Google Translate.)

Sea trials begin for the certification of the Cavour aircraft carrier for the use of F-35Bs
The first contact between the fifth generation aircraft and the flight deck of the flagship of the Navy
March 3, 2021 Web editorial staff
Operations and training
ATLANTIC OCEAN - Departed on February 28 from the base of the US Navy's Second Fleet in Norfolk, the Cavour ship has started the "hot" phase of the "Ready for Operations" campaign. The first landing of a US Marine Corps F-35B aircraft on the deck of the Navy aircraft carrier represents a fundamental step in the long and complex certification process for the use of the new aircraft.
The completion of the "Sea Trials" phase of sea trials, which will last in the Atlantic Ocean for about four weeks, will allow the flagship of the Naval Team to test the flight deck and verify the impacts with the fifth generation aircraft in key moments take-off and landing in different conditions of attitude and in relation to various factors such as winds and the state of the sea, to arrive at the final certification of "Ready for Operations".

"It is a remarkable achievement for all of us today to see the US Marine's fifth generation fighter on our flight deck," said Aircraft Carrier Commander Cavour, Captain Giancarlo Ciappina. "This represents, in fact, an exceptional success but, at the same time, a new challenge for the future of the Italian Naval Aviation and the Navy. The whole crew is very proud to work closely with the ITF, the team of testing the F-35 Joint Program Office during these sea trials, and we are very well prepared to do the hard work to equip the Cavour aircraft carrier and the Navy with the fifth generation Joint Strike Fighter weapon system. "
During the stop in Norfolk before the sea trials, the 580 crew members of the aircraft carrier were joined by the Italian personnel trained at the Marine base in Beaufort to operate on the aircraft, as well as the US personnel of the Integrated Test Force (ITF) team, essential in the integration phase.
"Our team trained extensively to prepare for this day, and I was honored to land the first jet aboard ship Cavour," said one of three US Marine Corps' F-35B test pilots. Major Brad Leeman, of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Three (VX-23) at Naval Air Station in Patuxent River and officer in charge of the ITF test team. "The ITF plays a key role in achieving certification. All of our hard planning and training work will ensure the success of the sea trials," said Leeman. After having ascertained the compatibility between the F-35B and the Cavour aircraft carrier, it will be declared "Ready for Operations", to start the activities that will lead to the achievement, by 2024, of the "Initial Operational Capability" (IOC). The process will be complete with the acquisition of the "Final Operational Capability" after the delivery of the last aircraft provided for in the program.

Again thanks 'doge' that DVIDS site is strange to find stuff & they/JPO STILL cannot SPULchk LIGHTNING ("Lighting"?). Meanwhile the first pic in the CAVOUR report above is Low Quality with the big pic at: https://g7a6v6x7.rocketcdn.me/wp-conten ... t-Time.jpg (3.5Mb) & 2nd big pic at: https://g7a6v6x7.rocketcdn.me/wp-conten ... LCH-11.jpg (1.9Mb) I'll zoom 'em.

Cavour video. It's a Superb view...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TT3CXz5v2hM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU3v5zHUVTg