On November 21, 2021, an Italian Air Force F-35B aircraft landed for the first time on the Cavour, the Italian Navy’s aircraft carrier, joining a Navy F-35B on board and signalling the start of long-awaited cooperative activity between the two forces employing the aircraft.
The two planes flew together from the Cavour to a neighbouring Royal Navy carrier, Queen Elizabeth, presently in the Mediterranean. In contrast, two US Marine F-35Bs now stationed aboard the British ship flew to the Cavour before the US, Italian, and British Bs did drills together.
Officially, the drill involved F-35Bs from other countries collaborating. The sight of Italian Navy and Air Force aircraft flying alongside one other was a significant breakthrough after a delayed start to collaboration between the Forces.
The Italian Navy already has three of the 15 F-35Bs that will be delivered, two of them training in the United States. The Air Force is receiving 60 F-35As, but it will also receive 15 Bs, which will be used in missions that need planes to take off from short runways.
“With this action, we are turning a new page where interoperability and the idea of Joint and Combined synergy between armed forces are tangible truths,” the Air Force stated in a statement.
