The Chief of the Italian Air Force, Lt Gen Alberto Rosso, has announced the achievement of the important goal at Amendola, on the 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 declared, ”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, it means we reached the capability of a system on the aircraft, we have crews trained to operate and a long-term maintenance and logistic support. We must be proud of this goal, reached thanks to the work of those who preceded us and of those who every day – with commitment, sentiment and passion – have permitted us to reach unbelievable results, even ahead of 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 operational context of complex air operations. All these activities well affirm the outstanding potential and the high flexibility to the most diverse environments of the F-35, an aircraft that can be defined omni-role, or able to express, simultaneously, several operational capabilities, becoming a strategic asset for Defence and essential in the management of modern operations. The use of the aircraft also represents an amplifier of the capabilities of all the other systems available in the Defence and Coalition organisations, which, working in synergy with a 5th generation aircraft, can acquire a renewed vigour, raising their own operational potential.
