389 million euros are to be paid to Lockheed Martin to honor the supply of the F35 fighters already delivered to Italy. The invoices, as reported by La Stampa, report the date of the Gentiloni government, since then the Defense has never ordered payments.
The dicastery, caught in a chestnut: "We will immediately comply with due amount. Within a few days the minister Elisabetta Trenta will sign the decree authorizing the expense". Another embarrassment for Italy. As expected, according to confidential sources consulted by the press, the request to suspend payments would have come directly from the Five Star Movement and probably from Palazzo Chigi.
Now the danger is that the American supplier can ask for them default interest, in this case whoever evaded payment should be investigated for damage to the tax authorities. The Ministry of Defense replies: "The delay was caused by a technical evaluation on the order, which we have completed. The dossier on the new planes is at Palazzo Chigi who will have to decide what to do. We need to open a discussion that will inevitably have to reach President Trump's table".
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force, general Alberto Rosso, in a hearing today at the joint defense committees of the Chamber and Senate expressed the perception of the armed force: "There is "strong concern for the uncertainty about the program" of the F35 fighter and "for the hypothesis of a quantitative decline" in the aircraft that Italy will acquire: the alternative would be to have "older and more expensive vehicles". General Rosso defined the F35 "not just a combat vehicle but a cultural revolution that radically changes the way the armed force operates".
Il general Red he then underlined that "at a political level, the number of aircraft authorized in this first phase is 28, we have 11 and a half, now we are waiting". "This plane - added the head of the Air Force - is the future, any slowdown or decline in the number would be worrying not only for us but also for the national industry given the economic induced that the program brings".
Faced with active participation in the program, there is a certain reluctance on the part of M5S, which, as we know, has always placed the basis of its electoral campaign, the exit of Italy from the program. An electoral choice that then clashed with reality, also represented by the Undersecretary of Defense Tofalo. Therefore it was considered appropriate to further investigate the fifth-generation fighter program, already employed by the Italian Air Force. The solution proposed by Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta is to review the program by expanding the delivery times of those already purchased.
The deputy premier Luigi Di Maio the 1 last February cried: "There is nothing decisive about F35, we at M5s believe that spending is useless and I say it here as we have said in recent months ". The deputy prime minister Luigi Di Maio pointed out to those who accuse him of not having kept his promise on the stop to purchase the military jets. "Every day there is a background that tells of a breakdown on F35 but I assure you that no decision has been made".
The purchase of new F-35 is a matter to be evaluated very carefully. The Minister of Defense declared it, Elisabetta Trenta to the program "Otto e Mezzo" broadcast on La7. "This is a twenty-year program and the due assessments must be made with great responsibility. We need to take into account, among other things, the impact on employment and entrepreneurship, "said Trenta, stressing that the dialogue on the issue is underway and proceeding as planned. "Until we make an official decision, one euro will not be spent". This is probably the reason for late payment.
Because Italy has chosen the F-35
The program was decided by previous governments and approved in Parliament after various steps in the Defense Commissions. Basically there is talk of replacing the operational capabilities that they express today with 90 F-35s about 250 aircraft divided between one hundred Tornadoes, of which 52 will still be operational in the five-year period 2020-2025 (the year in which their retirement is expected) 132 Amx, of which 60 will still be in service in 2020, and finally 18 Harrier II. In 2009, with the awareness that our line of ground attack aircraft would become obsolete within a decade, the Defense Commission approved the acquisition program Formulated by the Government for 131 F-35 (69 F-35A and 62 B) for the total cost of 12,9 billion euros. This number is subsequently reduced to 90 (60 F-35A and 30B of which 15 for AM) by the Monti government (2012) with a consequent reduction in costs compiled in the Multi-year Document for Defense (Dpp) for the three-year period 2013- 2015. Going into detail the estimate amounted to:
- One billion dollars for the Development and Demonstration of Systems (Sdd) phase.
- 900 millions of dollars for the next Production, Subsidiary and Development phase (Pfsd) to be allocated up to 2047
- 465 million euros for national preparatory activities (infrastructure adaptation)
- 795,6 millions of euros for the construction of the Faco (Final Assembly and Check Out line) of Cameri (No)
- 10 billions of euros for the creation of the support and purchase logistics network
The F-35 already operational in Italy
The first two copies of F-35A were delivered to the Air Force in the 2016, while the first example of F-35B was recently delivered to the Navy. Italy has 13 aircraft: twelve F-35A and one F-35B.
F-35 as a platform for decision-making superiority also for government and institutions at the political level
Il General Red during the hearing he provided a truly comprehensive representation of the potential of the fifth generation aircraft:
"The F-35, which is able to automatically process on board the aircraft an impressive amount of information that it collects independently, or that it receives from others - operating a real "fusion" and integration of the available data - and presenting to the pilot and to the ground centers a map of the environment in which one is operating which is clear, detailed, reliable and continuously updated. The collection and exploitation of data, the understanding of the scenario, the timely distribution of information at the right decision-making level are skills that have a significant impact on activities and operations, from tactical level to strategic level. On a tactical level, because they provide technical information to the field operator to manage aircraft and operational action. At the strategic level because they represent an important contribution through which to build a clear overview of the reference context, allowing even the "strategic decision maker" to orientate himself in the complexity. In other words, they enable the so-called "decision-making superiority", or the ability to make the right choice at the right time, often even anticipating events rather than reacting. In this sense, it is a service that goes far beyond the needs of the individual Armed Forces, becoming a tool that benefits not only the Defense, but also the Government and institutions at the political level. It is a precious contribution that the Air Force can make towards the collective strategic approach of the country system".
General Rosso highlighted in response to questions from parliamentarians: "The capabilities of the aircraft exceed our imagination, the pilots who used it were thrilled ". "For the Italian Air Force, the F-35 represents the future. Involvement in the program is general for the entire country system, especially on the part of Italian SMEs ".