Italian Armed Forces

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xav
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by xav »

Italy’s U212NFS Near Future Submarine Contract Signed
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Today, Fincantieri, one of the world’s leading shipbuilding groups and reference operator in the naval shipbuilding industry, and OCCAR (Organisation Conjointe de Cooperation en matiere d’Armement, the international organization for joint armament cooperation) will sign the contract for the construction of 2 new-generation submarines.
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/20 ... ct-signed/

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xav
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

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

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

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xav
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by xav »

And we got videos for Italian and US PAOs

[VIDEO] F-35B aboard Italian Navy Aircraft Carrier ITS Cavour for the first time

Lord Jim
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Lord Jim »

Great video and story. Cavour is a big ship but seeing the F-35s on board makes you realise exactly how big the Queen Elizabeths are!

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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

The ship is a good-looker, but is the deck so narrow that if you want to change the order in which the F-35s make use of the lift... you will have to 'jump' over the other one in the line-up?
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

Scimitar54
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Scimitar54 »

Someone must have thought that Jump-Jets could do that! :lol:

Lion-of-Chrace
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Lion-of-Chrace »

First landing of Italian F35b (Navy) on Cavour.


seaspear
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by seaspear »

Is there any information on the sortie rate for the Cavour carrying up to fifteen of the f35b,s ?

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Tempest414
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Tempest414 »

A great shot there of a F-35 and Harrier sharing the deck

Lord Jim
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Lord Jim »

I do like how the Cavour looks especially the idea of a OTO 76mm at the bow!.

seaspear
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by seaspear »

Setting the ramp back some metres from the bow to include the OTO 76 means less deck space but with the advantage of a potential increase in self-defence it might be argued it could of benefitted the R.Ns Queen Elizabeth class with such an arrangement with plenty of unused deck space and light self protection

Lord Jim
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Lord Jim »

Our carriers should have had bigger sponsons to allow a greater variety of self defence weapons systems to be installed if required.

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Tempest414
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Tempest414 »

Italian LHD starts sea trials looks good

inch
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by inch »

They look great indeed, wish we had a couple , never going to happen tho or anything the like tbh

Kiruth
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Kiruth »

Lord Jim wrote:Does Cavour have a secondary role as an Amphibious Assault Ship (LHA)? It doesn't have a well deck but could carry a substantial and mixed airwing of various helicopters and AV-8B+ and later F-35B together with the troops and equipment to be landed by the former.
Yes, in a sense it does: the ship derives from a study from the early 90s called NUMA (Nuova Unità Maggiore Anfibia, Major New Amphibious Vessel) planned to have a well deck compatible with LCACs and more focused on an LHD role. The vessel then developed from 91 to 98 to focus more on a pure carrier role (the study was renamed NUM losing the amphibious part): some characteristics of the NUMA were retained such as the dual 60ton ro-ro ramps, the MBT "compatible" hangar deck and the large marine accommodation facility, but the vessel has been used as a pure LHA on only a very few occasions (such as the Leonte Operation to "ferry" troops to the UN mission in Lebanon during which both Cavour and Garibaldi operated as LHAs).

The true heir to that NUMA concept for the MMI is actually the new ship Trieste that will replace the Garibaldi (which is used mainly as an LHA and amphibious command ship in these last few years).

Defiance
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Defiance »

Italy to arm their Reaper drones

https://www.defensenews.com/global/euro ... er-drones/
ROME — Italy has announced plans to arm its Reaper drones, six years after it first received permission from the U.S. to do so.

Rome detailed planned spending of €59 million (U.S. $69 million) on the project over the next seven years in its 2021 budget, adding that the total outlay would rise to €168 million.

Funding will slowly kick off with €2 million freed up in 2021 and 2022, followed by €5 million in 2023, €45 million per year from 2024 to 2026, and €5 million in 2027.

“Our vision is to equip the MQ-9s with a payload. It would be a normal evolution considering current threats,” an Air Force source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, told Defense News.

Italy operates both unarmed, upgraded Predator A drones as well as Reapers, and has deployed them to Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Africa, notably in Libya during the 2011 NATO air operations there.

After lobbying the U.S. for permission to arm them in 2011, Italy finally got the green light in 2015 from the State Department, making it the second country after the U.K. to get approval.

Italy was offered at the time a $129.6 million deal, with General Atomics acting as prime contractor, for 156 AGM-114-R2 Hellfire II missiles, 20 GBU-12 laser-guided bombs, 30 GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions and other armaments.

Asked what munitions Italy would now be looking for, the Air Force source said: “We would likely be seeking the standard munitions.”

The decision not to jump on the U.S. offer in 2015 was likely linked to political sensitivities in Italy concerning armed drone missions, particularly following the entry into government in 2018 of the 5-Star Movement political party, which opposes certain arms purchases.

Since then the party has modified its stance while Italian defense spending has increased and as recent conflicts in Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh have seen the widespread use of armed drones by regional players like Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.

Although funding plans appeared in the Defense Ministry’s budget, the project must now win the approval of the Italian parliament. The source said he’s unaware of when lawmakers will vote on the proposal, stating: “We cannot foresee the schedule, but we hope soon.”

JFoulke
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by JFoulke »

Some info about the AICS program:
AICS - The replacement of the Dardo

Lord Jim
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Lord Jim »

Thanks for the video, interesting. So this new vehicle will equip the Armoured and Mechanised Infantry and compliment the Cavalry Brigades equipped with the Centauro2 and its variants. Personally I am a fan of the Lynx and wish the British Army would look at it to replace both Warrior and Ajax if we are to retain a fleet of tracked platforms to compliment the Challenger 3. Of course the Boxer could also do the job.

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xav
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by xav »

Albatros NG / CAMM-ER


JFoulke
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by JFoulke »

Looks like Italian Eurofighter will get the AESA radar CaptorE MK2

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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Timmymagic »

JFoulke wrote:Looks like Italian Eurofighter will get the AESA radar CaptorE MK2
Yes they confirmed a month ago, not a massive surprise as Leonardo are Italian, but they were umming and ahhing over Radar 0 at one point.

The first 2 Italian built Typhoon's for Kuwait, equipped with AESA Radar 0, took to the sky for the first time yesterday.

Lord Jim
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Lord Jim »

When the Typhoon comes ou of refit and becomes the FGR Mk6 or whatever it is going to be a truly formidable platform and far closer tot he F-35 except in its level of stealth, but in some areas it will surpass it. throw in "Loyal Wingmen", and the RAF will be a force to be reckoned with, and able to take on all comers but must remain wary of attrition. As part of NATO we will be able to afford to allocate our F-35s solely to operation as part of the active CSG leaving the Typhoons to more than capably handle lover land operations and the UK Air Defence needs, in my humble opinion.

Scimitar54
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by Scimitar54 »

FLY NAVY to become applicable to fixed wing aircraft in the FAA again then! :lol:

JFoulke
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by JFoulke »

Italy is buying and acquiring a big deal of reconnaissance and intelligence aircrafts based on the G550


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ArmChairCivvy
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Re: Italian Armed Forces

Post by ArmChairCivvy »

Lord Jim wrote: a truly formidable platform and far closer tot he F-35 except in its level of stealth, but in some areas it will surpass it. throw in "Loyal Wingmen", and the RAF will be a force to be reckoned with, and able to take on all comers but must remain wary of attrition. As part of NATO we will be able to afford to allocate our F-35s solely to operation as part of the active CSG
Diverging from Italy (could comments as for Cavour only being an interim ' intervention' ship and the new one about to become a full-breed, thanks for those), so:
For the foreseeable future, the F-35 (a few of them) will be the loyal wingmen, scouting ahead and also dealing with defences in a SEAD role
- to superb combo of Typhoons carrying capability and Meteor will enable, in a quarterback role, the achieving of (local) airsuperiority... the RAF speak also includes air-supremacy, but a quick look into 'accepted glossary' of such terms will cast some doubt on that (USAFE might be lending a helping :) hand, though)
Ever-lasting truths: Multi-year budgets/ planning by necessity have to address the painful questions; more often than not the Either-Or prevails over Both-And.
If everyone is thinking the same, then someone is not thinking (attributed to Patton)

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