Italy may become Europe's biggest JSF buyer

Paris Air Show: Italy aims high on JSF

By Tim Ripley, JDW Special Correspondent, Paris Air Show

Italy could emerge as the largest European buyer of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), as early details emerged at the Paris Air Show of gathering momentum to put the next-generation combat aircraft into full-scale production.

Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin's vice-president for the F-35 programme, told JDW that the Italian Air Force was now considering replacing its Panavia Tornado interdictor strike (IDS) fleet with JSF. This would push the total potential Italian buy above 200 aircraft.

To date the Italians have committed to some 131 JSFs to replace the air force's McDonnell Douglas AV-8B naval fighters and Alenia/Embraer AMX light combat jets, putting them just behind the UK's stated requirement for 150 aircraft to replace the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy's Harrier GR.9s.

The Italian interest in the F-35 comes as the US and the JSF partner nations are stepping up negotiations over the JSF Production, Sustainment and Follow-on Development Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), ahead of the formal launching of the process in the third quarter of this year. Lockheed Martin executives regard this as a crucial phase of the JSF project that will determine how many aircraft are required and where they will be built.

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I wish they would buy some Raptors too.

I wish they would buy some Raptors too.

That not possible because congress has not approved the Raptor for export, any country who wants to buy the Raptor will have to convince the US congress to lift its ban on selling the F/A-22.

Originally posted by WestPoint23That not possible because congress has not approved the Raptor for export, any country who wants to buy the Raptor will have to convince the US congress to lift its ban on selling the F/A-22.

I don't think thats likely either, the Air Force is putting alot of faith in that aircraft to keep America in the lead and heavan knows knowone else can afford to put the research into developing a real competitor for it. I for one don't think we should sell it overseas, that's how those things end up in Chinese hangers getting scrutinized and vital components copied.

Does anyone know when the JSF is suppose to enter full-scale production.
Is the JSF cheaper than either the rafael and/or typhoon.

I believe it is scheduled to appear in service around 2014, give or take a couple of years. Also it is likely that it will ber considerably more expensive than either of them by that time even if it it isn't now, I don't know the current figures so that is my guesstimate.

Call me ignorant but wasn't the original date supposed to be in the 2006-08 timeframe.

2006-2008? Never heard of that date for the F-35, the years that are usually given on any military website are around 2011-2014. Its still early in the program so they are not excl sure about the year it enters full production.

I think I heard it mentioned on the show Future Fighting Machines on
what was TechTV.

Originally posted by danwild6
Call me ignorant but wasn't the original date supposed to be in the 2006-08 timeframe.

JSF has only been set back 1 year. Raptor was supposed to be 2003...

I guess I'm ignorant, but thanks for the info