Combat aircraft

T

HE ITALIAN NAVY (Marina

Militare) has long played an

important role within the

country’s military. However, its

GRUPAER (Gruppo Supporto

Aerei Imbarcati della Marina

Militare) is one of the youngest naval

squadrons worldwide and the Marina

Militare’s sole  xed-wing unit. All the

more remarkable, then, that it  ies

the Harrier: arguably among the most

complex and demanding fast jets in

the world.

Bringing Harriers into Italian Navy

service was anything but straightforward.

For a start, an Italian law dating back to

1937 that forbade the navy from  ying

anything except helicopters had to

If ever there was a

rare breed analogy for

aircraft, Harriers in

Europe would come near

the top of the list. The

Italian Navy may have

signed up for the F-35B,

but its Harriers are still

going strong.

REPORT Dr Andreas Zeitler

and Andrea Avian

Tooled up — an

Italian Navy

Harrier ‘Plus’

complete with

AGM-65 Maverick,

AIM-120 AMRAAM

and AIM-9

Sidewinder, plus

a Litening II on

the centerline.

Clearance for the

Italian AV-8B+

force to use mixed

air-to-air and air-

to-ground stores

is expected soon.

Dr Andreas Zeitler

76 April 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

76-83 Italian Harriers C.indd 76 15/02/2018 13:50