Italy is to review its defence-acquisition plans, with substantial cuts being seen as inevitable. Several projects are likely to be delayed, if not cut altogether. Beniamino Andreatta, Italy's defence minister, says that the long-term defence spending plan, the Defence Model hammered out in 1995, is no longer affordable. He says that spending cuts of around 10% are required.
The Italian Government has set its 1997 defence budget at 31,000 billion lire ($20.4 billion), a reduction of some 200 billion lire on the figures for 1996. When several funding activities drawn from the defence budget are taken into account, however, including financing the Carabinieri (the paramilitary police), the "real" defence budget is 21,000 billion lire.
The air force is struggling to fund its key acquisition and modernisation programmes. These include funding the Eurofighter 2000 and Alenia/Embraer AMX fighter bomber, upgrading its Panavia Tornados and acquiring airborne early-warning (AEW) and maritime-patrol aircraft.
The Eurofighter 2000 programme has been allocated 450 billion lire for its development phase, while various Tornado projects account for another 380 billion lire.
Funding items included for the first time cover the acquisition of at least two AEW aircraft. Two air force Lockheed Martin C-130s projects have also been included. These cover an upgrade to the air force's C-130Hs and initial payments to fund the procurement of 16-18 C-130J Hercules IIs.
The budget also includes funding for a study into determining a successor to the air force's Dassault Atlantic maritime-patrol aircraft in collaboration with Germany.
Some key weapons projects are funded, including the IRIS-T imaging infra-red short-range air-to-air missile (AAM) and an active radar-guided medium-range AAM.
The defence ministry is also looking to obtain some EF2000 production funding, as well as some for the AMX-E electronic-warfare variant of the fighter bomber and the European Future Large Aircraft (FLA) project, from the industry ministry, although the air force is little more than lukewarm towards the FLA project, say defence ministry sources.
The budget allows 50 billion lire for a navy study into a new short take-off/vertical landing aircraft carrier/amphibious attack ship, as well as finance for the EH Industries EH101 and McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Plus Harrier. Army projects include funding towards a reconnaissance version of the Agusta A129 and a second batch of its attack variant.
Source: Flight International
