F-35B - Italia mottar sin maskin nummer to - The Aviationist

 

Second F-35B For The Italian Air Force Flies For The First Time

March 15, 2022 F-35, Italian Air Force, Military Aviation

STEFANO D'URSO

The second F-35B for the Italian Air Force during a recent test flight (Photo: Roberto Resnigo)

BL-5 is the fifth Italian F-35B, and the second destined to the 32° Stormo (Wing).

On Mar. 9, 2022, the F-35B BL-5, the fifth STOVL (Short Take Off Vertical Landing) aircraft assembled in Italy, at the FACO (Final Assembly and Check Out) facility, in Cameri, carried out its maiden flight. The aircraft, which received the code 32-18 and serial MM7455, is the second F-35B to be assigned to the 32° Stormo (Wing) of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force).

As happened for the test flights of the other F-35s, a single Eurofighter 2000, belonging to the 51° Stormo, accompanied the fifth generation aircraft as safety chase. The images in this article, provided by our friends from BestShotAircraft, show the F-35B flying an approach in STOVL mode. As we previously reported, the program calls for six test flights, including one in STOVL mode, before the jet is delivered to the customer for acceptance.

As often explained here at The Aviationist, the Italian Government is currently procuring 90 F-35s, 60 of those are F-35As and the remaining 30 ones are F-35Bs. Out of those 30 F-35Bs, 15 will go to the Navy and 15 to the Air Force. The Lightning II will replace the Navy’s ageing AV-8B+ Harrier II and will be embarked on the Cavour aircraft carrier and the new LHD Trieste. It is not completely clear, however, where the F-35s will be land-based.

In recent months, the Navy and the Air Force worked in full synergy for the development of the national ability to project the potential offered by the new fifth generation aircraft from the sea and from the ground, operating jointly in operational situations where suitable landing strips for conventional aircraft are not available. Notable are the first landing of the F-35B of the Italian Air Force on the Italian Navy ITS Cavour aircraft carrier and the joint training of both services on Pantelleria island.