Italy To Service European F-35 Fighter Jet

The Pentagon announced Thursday that Italy would provide initial maintenance of F-35 fighter jets and it engines in Europe from 2018.

“Itlay will initially do the heavy maintenance of the jets and Britain will provide a backup if necessary. Most of the work will be done by Alenia, a unit of Finmeccanica which manages a $1 billion-plus government-owned final assembly and checkout facility in Cameri that is also building wings for F-35 jets,” Air Force Lieutenant General Chris Bogdan, the Pentagon's F-35 program manager said during the announcement.

The decisions came after months of reviews and site visits, and were based on "best value" and other factors such as location and projected F-35 basing.

"The activities which will be carried out at the Cameri facility will have significant technological content and will generate sizable economic and occupational returns,” Mauro Moretti, Finmeccanica’s CEO and General Manager said in a statement.

I hope that Finmeccanica will also be involved in other high-quality components of the aircraft, such as the avionics and electronics, which would generate further important benefits in terms of new jobs, research and innovation,” Moretti said.

“This is the result of an effective strategy at national level. It stands out as a key factor in the path to re-launching the group with a focus on enhancing its core business areas of excellence,” he added.