Andy Nativi/GENOA
The Italian air force is expected to announce its selection of an interim fighter by the end of January to bridge the gap until the Eurofighter reaches full operational capability.
Once Rome has made a decision, a contract is expected to be signed within weeks. There are concerns, however, within the air force - which set an end of November deadline to receive bids - that the schedule will slip due to the delivery of unsolicited bids, including proposals from Eurofighter, which is attempting to convince Italy that the type will be fully operational in 2005 rather than 2008 as Italy is planning, say sources in Rome.
The air force wants the interim fighter to enter service in 2003. The winner will be responsible for maintenance and the lease is due to run to 2010.
Initially four bids were notified: the US Government offering used Lockheed Martin F-16ADFs, the UK offering to extend a Panavia Tornado F3 lease past its 2004 expiry date, Dassault offering new Mirage 2000-5s and Thales (formerly Thomson-CSF) westernised RSKMiG-29 Fulcrums.
Thales withdrew but EADS's German arm offered upgraded ex-German air force MiG-29s with additional second-hand aircraft. A further offer was made by the Greek air force of Dassault Mirage F1s, which are to be retired in the next few years.
The US F-16 and French Mirage 2000 proposals remain on the table. The former consists of 30 single-seat F-16ABlock 15 ADFs and four twin-seat F-16Bs, plus four F-16Bs to be used as spares . France is offering 22 single-seat Mirage 2000-5s and six operational trainers. Sources in Rome say the Mirage 2000s are more expensive, but the aircraft are new, with current avionics. The F-16 is cheaper but is based on used aircraft with older systems.
Eurofighter is offering to re-schedule delivery so that most of Batch 1 goes to Italy, reducing the delivery timescale of Italy's 121 aircraft. The offer is likely to be rejected as full operational capability (FOC) is the crucial factor, rather than aircraft numbers, although UK industry sources note that Germany and the UK are working towards a 2005 FOC rather than Italy's 2008 date.
Source: Flight International
