The Italian Air Force is to get a second air base ready to host the F-35A by the end of this year as deliveries of the aircraft ramp up, according to officials.
A medium-lift, multirole helicopter launched in 2006, AW149 customers include Thailand and Egypt. Leonardo is currently marketing the type to the United Kingdom.
“The end of this decade is an ambitious yet achievable timeline,” says Lt. Col. Roberto Forlani, an official at the Italian Army’s planning and policy division.
If accepted, the deal would see off reported interest in Oto Melara from KNDS – the alliance of Germany’s Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France’s Nexter which sounded out Oto Melara’s owner, Italian state controlled Leonardo, about a sale last year.
Speaking to Italian publication L’Espresso, Giuseppe Bono said his mandate was not being renewed by the Italian government due to his age, adding that he “respected” the decision.
“It’s a process, it won’t happen immediately, but there is a deep willingness by political and defense players for big opportunities of this kind in Europe,” Alessandro Profumo told reporters in Rome.
Politicians, unionists and industrialists have all joined a sometimes heated discussion about Oto Melara ever since state-controlled Leonardo said last year it wanted to sell a stake in the firm to focus on other activities.
By confirming the date had been pushed back, Prime Minister Mario Draghi appeared to solve a row with a member of his ruling coalition, the Five Star party.
Prime contractor Airbus announced it had selected the Catalyst, an engine developed by GE Avation-owned Avio Aero, to power the flagship drone, due to be procured by Italy, France, Germany and Spain.