Graham Warwick/WASHINGTON DC
The USA says Italy has chosen to lease 34 Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs for five years to bridge the gap until Eurofighter deliveries begin. France has been given the chance to offer a similar Dassault Mirage 2000 lease deal, but sources say it is likely Italy will stick with the F-16s.
The US Department of Defense has notified Congress of a $780 million offer to lease Italy 30 F-16A Air Defence Fighter (ADF) single-seaters and four F-16B Operational Capability Upgrade (OCU) two-seaters - ex-USAir Force aircraft now in storage.
The deal includes Falcon Up structural improvements and Pratt & Whitney F100-220E engine upgrades for all 34 leased aircraft, plus the sale of four F-16AOCUs to Italy to be cannibalised for spares. Also included are spare F100 engines and Northrop Grumman APG-66 radars, plus a unit-level training device.
Deliveries are set to begin 30 months after a contract is signed. The F-16s will replace Panavia Tornado F3s leased from the UK, and the aircraft will be armed with AIM-9 Sidewinder short-range and AIM-7 Sparrow and AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles.
Italian sources say the deal is not yet done and expect France to deliver a bid based on new Dassault Mirage 2000-5s this week and for the UK to apply pressure on Italy to retain the leased Tornados. The F-16, however, is believed to be the cheapest option.
The Italian Government requires a contractor to provide 24 fighters daily from between four and six air bases. The requirement has been driven by concerns that the Eurofighter will not be operational in meaningful numbers for years while the mainstay of the fighter fleet, the elderly Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, is no longer considered effective.
• The USA is close to a deal to take 28 undelivered F-16A/Bs, ordered by Pakistan then embargoed and stored, and split them between the USAir Force and Navy. The USN plans to use its F-16s as aggressor aircraft, while the USAF will use its additional aircraft as test assets.
Source: Flight International
