Article Posted on : - May 28, 2012

Italian Air Force Typhoons. Photo: Eurofighter Typhoon.

ROME (BNS): Eurofighter Typhoons of the Italian Air Force (ItAF) have replaced the last of the air forces' F-16 jets to leave the Typhoon solely responsible for the defence of Italian airspace.

Entering into service in 2004 and now operational with four Typhoon Squadrons (Gruppi) across both northern and southern Italy - two at Grosseto air base and two at Gioia del Colle - Eurofighter is now the only air defence asset in the Italian Air Force.

Replacing the F-16 as a more modern weapon system, the Typhoon aircraft will bring to the air force operational benefits including better effectiveness and capabilities of the new fighter as well as offering logistics benefits due to the standardisation of having only one operational line for air defence duties, Eurofighter Typhoon said in a statement.

The ItAF leased 34 F-16s from the USAF for a period of five years, followed by an additional five years under the programme "Peace Caesar". The aircraft has been effectively used to fill a gap during the transition from the F-104 and the Eurofighter.

62 Typhoon aircraft have been delivered to the Italian Air Force to date. The Italian Air Force fleet has completed over 200 missions and flew 1294 flying hours from their Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Trapani, Sicily.