“It is the world’s most lethal fighter, the most survivable, the most connected; it gives pilots an edge against any adversary and allows them to execute the mission and return home safely”: this is the description of the F-35 fighter jet, the flagship of the US Air Force and those of its main allies, given by its manufacturers Lockheed-Martin, the largest weapons company in the world (google it and believe it: “www.f35.com”).

The Sardinians will soon have the opportunity to get to know these highly advanced war machines up close: the military airport of Decimomannu will no longer be just a flight and shooting training base for military aircraft pilots and, on occasion, logistics, but also a real operational base for these fifth-generation single-seater jets famous for their war effectiveness and ability to be (almost) invisible to radar.

Shopping campaign

It can be read in the Multi-Year Defense Program Document 2024-2026: the Air Force will purchase another fifteen F-35As (with conventional take-off and landing) and five F-35Bs (with short take-off and vertical landing). According to the program, some of the new aircraft, in addition to the current bases where this type of aircraft is already operational (Ghedi, in Lombardy, and Amendola, in Puglia), will be based in Decimomannu. The Sardinian base, together with the one in Grottaglie (in Puglia) for the Navy, will be activated in the context of Phase 2b of the program to strengthen the military fleet: historically used for exercises (for example on the T-346 training aircraft that we often see whizzing through our skies and of which the same Defense Document announces the purchase of another five examples), Decimomannu will assume a strategic role in the management and logistical support of the F-35s.

The news was given by some websites specialized in aeronautical matters, such as the Italian “Aviation-report.com” and the attentive Sardinian blog Flight sardinia magazine (flightsardiniamagazine2.wordpress.com).

The fleet

The program for the strengthening of the Italian military air fleet plans to reach a total of 115 F-35s (95 for the Air Force, 20 for the Navy) compared to the 90 planned until the recent publication of the Program Document, for which a total expenditure of over 18 billion euros is estimated: in addition to the additional 15 F-35s and for the Air Force plus five for the Navy, another 24 Eurofighter fighter jets will also be purchased. For phase 2b alone, the one that also concerns Decimomannu, started two years ago, the expected expenditure is 7 billion euros.