In Ghedi preparing the new base for the F-35

by Manlio Dinucci

(15 March 2021) The United States continues to modernise its nuclear strike force, also in Europe. In violation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty it has signed, Italy is housing more and more of these weapons.

At the military airport of Ghedi (Brescia), work is underway to build the main operational base for the Italian Air Force's F-35A fighter jets armed with nuclear bombs. The construction company Matarrese Spa from Bari, which won the tender with a bid of 91 million euros, will build a large hangar for the maintenance of the fighters (more than 6,000 square metres) and a small building that will house the command centre and the flight simulators, equipped with perfect thermo-acoustic insulation "in order to prevent surveillance of conversations".

Two runways will be built, each with 15 small hangars in which the fighters will be stationed ready for take-off. This confirms what we published three years ago,¹ namely that the project (launched by Roberta Pinotti, then Minister of Defence) envisaged the deployment of at least 30 F-35A fighters.

The area where the F-35s will be based, fenced and guarded, will be separate from the rest of the airport and top secret. The reason is evident: next to the new fighters, the new US B61-12 bombs will be based at Ghedi, in a secret depot that does not appear in the tender.

Just like the current B-61 bombs, which are used by the PA-200 Tornado of the 6th Stormo, [special squadron of the Italian Air Force, translator’s note] the B61-12s will be controlled by the special unit of the US Air Force (704th Ammunitions Support Squadron), "responsible for the reception, storage and maintenance of the weapons of the US war reserve destined for the 6th Nato Stormo of the Italian Air Force". The same US Air Force unit is assigned to "directly support the attack mission" of the 6th Stormo.

Italian pilots are already being trained at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona and Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to operate the F-35A, including for nuclear attack missions under US command.

Fighter aircraft of the same type, armed or at least capable of being armed with the new B61-12s, are deployed at Foggia-Amendola (region of Apulia), where they have already exceeded 5,000 flight hours. In addition to these, there will be U.S. Air Force F-35s deployed at the air base in Aviano (region of Friuli/Veneto) which are also planned to be equipped with B61-12s.

The new F-35A fighter and the new B61-12 nuclear bomb constitute an integrated weapons system: the use of the aircraft includes the use of this bomb. Defence Minister Lorenzo Guerini (Pd) confirmed that Italy maintains its commitment to purchase 90 F-35 fighters, 60 of which are nuclear-capable A-models.

Participation in the F-35 programme, as a second tier partner, strengthens Italy's ties to the US. The Italian war industry, headed by the company Leonardo, which manages the F-35 military airport in Cameri (Novara), is increasingly integrated into the gigantic American military-industrial complex headed by Lockheed Martin, the world's leading arms and advanced technologies company, which built the F-35.

At the same time, Italy – a non-nuclear state and a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty and as such prohibited to having nuclear weapons on its territory – is playing the ever more perilous role of a forward base for the US/NATO nuclear strategy against Russia and other countries.

Given that each aircraft can carry two B61-12s in its cargo bay, Ghedi's 30 F-35 A's alone will have a capacity of at least 60 nuclear bombs. According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the new "tactical" B61-12 bomb that the US will deploy in Italy and other European countries from 2022 onwards will have a greater target accuracy, while having "the same military capability as the strategic bombs deployed in the US".

Finally, there is the as yet undefined question of costs. The US Congressional Research Service, in May 2020, estimates the average price of an F-35 at $108 million, although it points out that "this is the price of the aircraft without the engines", which costs about $22 million. Once purchased, even at a lower price as Lockheed Martin promises for the future, the expense of the F-35's continuous maintenance, crew training and operation are not included. According to US Air Force documents, one hour of flight time for an F-35 costs more than 42,000 dollars. This means that the 5,000 hours of flight time of the F-35 at the Amendola site alone cost the Italians some 180 million euros from the public treasury.

Source: voltairenet.org/Il Manifesto (Italy), 6/10/2020

(Translation «Swiss Standpoint»)

1 Il manifesto du 28.11.2017