Italian Navy Launches New Aircraft Carrier Trieste - But Will It Aquire F-35B Jets For Its Deck?

On May 25th the Italian Navy launched a new aircraft carrier, the L9890 Trieste, to supplement the two existing carriers in its fleet. The warship was laid down on February 20th, 2018, and is expected to replace the carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi in the early 2020s. While the new 32,000 ton warship was initially expected to deploy F-35B vertical landing capable stealth fighters, Rome’s suspension of orders for the F-35 and reported plans to terminate participation in the program has placed the warship’s future in serious doubt. The Trieste, like its lighter 13,800 ton predecessor the Garibaldi, has neither a catapult launch system nor an adequate deck to accommodate conventional carrier based fighters such as the F-18 Hornet or Rafale M, which combined with its lack of arresting gear restricts it to deploying specialised short takeoff vertical landing capable jets. The Garibaldi currently deploys the American AV-8B Harrier II fourth generation fighter developed by McDonnell Douglas, a platform which dates back to 1981 and is currently being phased out of service by its primary operator, the U.S. Marine Corps, in favour of the fifth generation F-35B. 

With the Italian Navy having already invested over €1 billion in the new aircraft carrier, whether the Italian government will approve an acquisition of F-35 fighters for its decks remains to be seen. Acquisition of a small contingent of the F-35B fighters, while still terminating plans for further F-35A orders for the Italian Air Force, remains a possibility given the unique capabilities of the specialised vertical landing capable jet. Britain is currently the only state which plans to exclusively deploy the B variant of the F-35, but Italy's circumstances could lead it to follow suit. The F-35B is currently the most costly fighter jet in production the world and the only fighter in production with vertical landing capabilities, making it far more difficult to substitute than the cheaper F-35A. While vertical landing capable fighters are reportedly being developed for similar but larger carriers in the Russian and Chinese Navies which could be compatible with the warship Trieste, and Italy's ties to these states have warmed since the election of the Democratic Party in 2018, the country's longstanding NATO membership and need to maintain good relations with its European and North American allies makes such an acquisition highly unlikely. The Italian Air Force currently has 9 F-35A fighters in service out of 28 ordered, with a further 30 F-35B jets planned of which it has yet to order or receive any.