Italy Boosts Air Force Arsenal with More StormBreaker Bombs, AMRAAM Missiles For F-35 Fighter Jets

Defense News ,Italy :- The United States Department of State recently gave the green light for Italy to buy more advanced weapons for its Lockheed Martin F-35A/B Lightning II multirole fighters. These weapons are worth about USD 220 million.

Italy plans to get more RTX GBU-53/B StormBreaker SDB-II guided bombs. They want to add 125 bombs and eight simulators to their arsenal. Before, Italy got approval for buying 48 of these bombs and four simulators.

The new batch of bombs is valued at a maximum of USD 150 million, and the first batch was contracted in December last year.

The GBU-53/B StormBreaker bombs are special because of their guidance system, allowing them to destroy both stationary and moving targets. They are lightweight (93 kg), making it possible for multirole combat aircraft to carry more of them, helping to eliminate more targets with less collateral damage.

In addition to the bombs, Italy also wants to buy twelve AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guided missiles. This is an extension of a previous request, which included twelve missiles and the necessary logistical package. The total cost for the 24 missiles, additional elements, and support is valued at a maximum of USD 70 million.

Both the StormBreaker bombs and AMRAAM missiles will play a crucial role in enhancing Italy's F-35 Lightning II fleet, improving its abilities in both air-to-air and air-to-ground combat.