N ATO
70
is also an example of the flexibility of the
programme: foreign nations’ aircraft can
deploy here and get the operational and
logistical support they need to operate. The
infrastructures were born with this embedded
ability to support partner air forces’ F-35s.
This was the first time we supported and
co-operated with the F-35B; although not
planned yet, I personally think we will make a
return visit to RAF Marham – maybe next year.”
The two ‘Dambusters’ F-35Bs were among
six Lightnings that took part in the Akrotiri
deployment during which the RAF F-35B made
its combat debut over Syria and Iraq. Wg
Cdr John Butcher, boss of No 617 Squadron,
reflected: “Lightning Dawn was our first proof-
of-concept deployment away from the UK.
We had lots of different objectives we wanted
to achieve, and we met all of them. From the
moment we arrived in Cyprus, things went
very well: we assessed that the infrastructures
were accessible, that the logistic chain wasthere to support us. We found very quickly
that we were having good productivity. We
performed armed overwatch of our forces on
the ground in support of Operation Shader.
“As part of the deployment we also had
the opportunity to train with the Israelis and
that was one of the highlights because, as
proven today with the Italians, the F-35,
as an integrated asset across different
nations, works pretty well. We are not really
flying different aircraft – we are all flying
F-35s: once the wheels are up and you are
flying around, you are the same assets,
you are able to do the same things.”
Maj Maurizio De Guida, commander
of the 13° Gruppo, added: “I met Wing
Commander Butcher yesterday; we talked
for ten minutes about today’s mission. Today
we carried out a tactical mission that would
have been impossible to fly – that easily and
that quickly – with any previous-generation
aircraft. We were on the same MADL chain
and I realised that I had flown a mission
alongside an F-35B only after landing. While
airborne we were flying the same aircraft, in
a complex mission, with amazing ease”Offensive counter-air
During the afternoon, several AM assets,
including T-346s, AMXs, a KC-767 tanker and
four F-35As took part in a complex offensive
counter-air (OCA) mission inside restricted
airspace located over the Tyrrhenian Sea, east
of Sardinia, which also saw involvement of the
four F-35As from the 421st FS. Italian Typhoons
integrated on both the simulated adversary side
and the ‘Blue’ side. The US F-35s launched
from Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, carried
out their mission and landed at Amendola.
A USAF lieutenant colonel, who identified
himself only by his callsign ‘Ali’, explained: “We
are here to increase interoperability. Exercise
Astral Knight was our first test of interoperability
between Italian F-35As and US F-35As. Today
we made a step forward and also had the
opportunity to land in Amendola and actually
talk face-to-face to the Italian pilots, which we
couldn’t do during Astral Knight, when we were
based in Aviano, while the Italians flew from
here. F-35 pilots who took part in today’s OCA
mission will have the opportunity to debrief
together and this is extremely important.”RAFF-35BsandUSAFF-35As
joinedItalianAirForceF-35As
forjointdrillsatAmendolaair
base,andDavidCenciottiflew
Staccato Pursuit withthem.
AFM
http://www.airforcesmonthly.com #378 September 2019 // 6160-61 UKF35s AFM Sep2019.indd 61 02/08/2019 17:23:30