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 aircraft crashed into Mount Legnone near Lake Como on Wednesday, prompting rescue services to search for the ejected pilots on the slopes of the mountain.
Speculation has grown that Russian troops will advance to Transnistria and use it as a launch pad for further operations in Ukraine or even an invasion of Moldova.
Adm. Giuseppe Cavo Dragone was speaking at a seminar marking the launch of a new think tank report, which urged the Italian government to beef up space defense and keep orbital paths clear of debris.
The Italian cabinet signed off on a measure authorizing the dispatch of Stinger surface-to-air missiles, mortars and Milan, or Panzerfaust, anti-tank weapons.
Top of the list are two 10,000 tonne DDX destroyers with a total price tag of 2.7 billion euros ($3bn), followed by 64 new amphibious vehicles and 347 VTMM 2 armored vehicles for the army.
Italy’s intelligence watchdog has called for tighter, U.S.-style monitoring of corporate acquisitions after allegations that China quietly purchased an Italian military drone maker that supplied Italy’s special forces.
A corporate tie-up between Italy’s Leonardo and Germany’s Hensoldt could make Europe’s two future fighters, the Tempest and the Future Combat Air System, more interoperable, a Leonardo official has claimed.
Leonardo has won 260 million euros ($296 million) in Eurofighter radar work from Germany’s Hensoldt, meaning the Italian firm now has a major role in all three of the new e-scan radars being built for Typhoon customers.