The Chief of the Italian Air force Lt Gen. Alberto Rosso has announced the achievement of the important goal at Amendola, in occasion of the media-day of the 4th flying course of the Tactical Leadership Programme, the first with 5th generation aircraft. “Today is an important day for the Italian Air force”, Lieutenant General Rosso deared, with the achievement of the Initial Operational Capability (IOC) of our F-35 we are able to express – first in Europe – a real operational capability with a 5th generation aircraft, lt means we reached the capability of a system on the aircrafts, we have crews trained to operate and a long term maintenance and logistic support. We must to be proud of this goal, reached thank to the work of who preceded us and of who every day – with commitment, sentiment and passion – has permitted to reach unbelievable results, even in advance from what was expected”. Attending the TLP, focal point of NATO in the tactical joint training sector of the allied Air forces, represents a very considerable goal achieved in the process of integration of the F-35 in the international operative context of complex air operations. All these activities well affirm the outstanding potential and the high flexibility to the most different environments of the F-35, an aircraft that can be defined omni-role, or able to express, simultaneously, several operational skills, becoming a strategic asset for the Defence and essential in the management of modern operations. The use of the aircraft also represents an amplifier of the capacities of all the other systems available in the Defence and Coalition organizations, that, working in synergy with a 5th generation aircraft, could acquire a renewed energy, raising the own operational potential.
