The brand new facility at Trapani-Birgi will make the Sicilian base Italy’s third operational F-35 hub and a future multinational coaching middle for NATO and associate nations.
Italy’s Ministry of Protection has formally accepted the creation of a brand new F-35 Lightning II coaching middle at Trapani-Birgi Air Base, authorizing an funding of €112.6 million to show the Sicilian set up into the nation’s third operational base for the fifth-generation fighter. The opposite two are Amendola and Ghedi air bases, residence to the Italian Air Pressure’s thirty second and sixth Wings, respectively.
In line with the Italian state information company ANSA, the challenge will set up the so-called Lightning Coaching Heart, devoted to coaching F-35 pilots and open not solely to Italian models but in addition to NATO and European associate nations concerned within the Joint Strike Fighter program. As soon as operational, Trapani would develop into the primary F-35 pilot coaching middle positioned outdoors america.
The initiative is a part of the broader JSF framework and foresees the creation of two flying models at Trapani: one nationwide operational unit and one worldwide coaching unit, along with a shared coaching and assist middle.
The primary part of this system, described as a precedence, consists of the development of a devoted floor coaching constructing, a Particular Entry Program Facility, two Full Mission Simulators, and house reserved for added Pilot Coaching Gadgets sooner or later. In line with ANSA, completion of the Lightning Coaching Heart constructing is scheduled for July 1, 2029, with preliminary operational functionality (IOC) anticipated by December 2028.
The challenge might be carried out by a three way partnership fashioned by Leonardo and Lockheed Martin. Lockheed Martin will provide the simulators and superior coaching programs, whereas Leonardo might be chargeable for managing labeled engineering knowledge in accordance with U.S. rules and the safety agreements governing the F-35 program.
Building work is anticipated to start later this 12 months and can unfold over a five-year interval. Spending will ramp up progressively, peaking at greater than 47 million Euro in 2029.
As The Aviationist has beforehand reported, Trapani-Birgi has lengthy been thought-about a powerful candidate for an expanded F-35 function, given its strategic location within the central Mediterranean and its current infrastructure supporting superior air operations. In earlier protection, we highlighted how Italy has been steadily consolidating its place inside the F-35 enterprise, not solely as an operator but in addition as a key industrial and sustainment hub, thanks partially to the Last Meeting and Examine Out (FACO) facility at Cameri.
The choice to ascertain a global F-35 pilot coaching middle in Italy matches squarely inside this technique, reinforcing the nation’s function as a reference level for allied air forces transitioning to fifth-generation capabilities. It additionally aligns with Rome’s broader ambition to leverage the F-35 program for long-term industrial, technological, and employment returns.
On the identical time, the ANSA report notes that the challenge has sparked controversy on the native stage, with criticism targeted on the rising militarization of the territory. Regardless of these considerations, the Ministry of Protection seems dedicated to transferring ahead, framing the funding as each a strategic and financial alternative tied to Italy’s participation in one of the crucial complicated and far-reaching protection applications on this planet.
That is what we wrote in a latest article revealed in September 2025:
The collection of Trapani is especially fascinating: the airport in northwestern Sicily is a joint civil and navy airfield, presently residence to the 37° Stormo (Wing) of the Italian Air Pressure, outfitted with Eurofighter Storm jets. Which means that the worldwide F-35 college, twin to Luke Air Pressure Base, will share runways and infrastructure with a civilian airport, one thing fairly distinctive.
Again in 2023, throughout a media briefing hosted by Lockheed Martin in Rome as a part of the celebrations for the Centenary of the Italian Air Pressure, Jonathan Hoyle, Chief Govt Europe, and Randy Howard, Vice President of International Pursuits, revealed that the Italian Air Pressure was planning so as to add a 3rd F-35 base along with Ghedi and Amendola: Decimomannu, in Sardinia.
The brand new base at “Deci” had in actual fact been hinted at by one of many exhibition panels positioned subsequent to the Lightning mock-up on show on the “Air Pressure Expertise.” As we reported again then, the “Quick Info” board had the textual content “Future Base” written on Decimomannu Air Base. It isn’t clear whether or not a 3rd Italian base remains to be deliberate there; what’s official now’s that the F-35 college might be established at Trapani, an airfield that may probably quickly be readied to accommodate the fifth era plane and its devoted coaching amenities.
With the approval now in place, Trapani-Birgi is about to play a central function within the subsequent part of European and allied F-35 operations, extending Italy’s footprint within the Lightning II ecosystem nicely past nationwide borders.
