We wrote some years ago about the coming of the F-35 to the Italian air enabled small deck carrier.

One of those articles focused on the importance of the Italian pilots and maintainers working with the USMC in preparing the way ahead.

In that article published on February 18, 2016, we highlighted the following:

We have discussed the evolution of Italian Airpower with senior Italian Air Force leaders.

And the Italian reshaping of their airpower capabilities with the modernization of the Eurofighter and the building, deploying and integration of the F-35, both the the As and the Bs, is a key part of the way ahead for Italy and its role in coalition operations through the Mediterranean and beyond.

The standing up of the Cameri facility in only four years, and building the first two F-35s outside of the United States is a major achievement.

And with the first F-35 transatlantic flight recently conducted by Ninja, the all-Italian air package — one F-35, two Eurofighters and two KC-767 tankers — crossed the Atlantic from the Azores in 7 hours against stiff headwinds.

The pilot had only 50 hours on the F-35 prior to the flight and the plane only 15 flight hours.

Even though Italy is clearly working airpower transformation, and the Italian Navy is on track to buy F-35Bs to replace their harriers for the Cavour, we have heard very little from them about how the evolution of Airpower intersects with naval modernization.

In a recently piece written by Commander Mauizio Modesto of the Italian Navy and published in the JPACC Journal, a perspective is provided with regard to “Italian Naval Air Power: New Challenges and Capabilities.”

At the end of the article we learn that:

A further major challenge ahead for Italian Naval Air Power is the renewal of embarked fixed wing aircraft with the gradual replacement of AV88 Plus with the STOVL version of the F-35B.

The F-35B is a revolutionary aircraft wit extraordinary operational capabilities supported by a logistics system with global reach that will allow the Italian Navy to make a leap into 5th generation combat aircraft.

The article provides a look at the evolving strategic situation within which the Italian Navy is operating and the need to extend its reach and to ensure the flexibility of operational capabilities to operate throughout the spectrum of warfare in a fluid and dynamically changing situation in the Mediterranean.

The F-35 is a key element for providing the kind of ISR and C2 which a dispersed fleet will need while operating across the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic.

But what is not clear is whether the Italian Navy really grasps this fundamental point about the capability.

And the F-35Bs which can fly organically off of the Cavour can link directly and instantly with the Italian Air Force F-35s flying from land bases or those of the coalition.

As a senior RAF pilot put it with regard to the shift from Harrier to F-35B which will fly from the Queen Elizabeth: “Before I leave the flight deck I will see the battlespace from my cockpit through my connectivity with F-35s already flying in the objective area.”

Taking this concept back to the Italian Navy and its consideration looking forward, getting to Beaufort Air Station and working with the RAF and the USMC might make a great deal of sense to build the F-35B and its operations into the ground floor of shaping the Italian Navy’s way ahead.

Unfortunately, the current approach seems to be dealing with the F-35B was silver bullet or high-end asset which will be added like a cherry on the cake.

What the Marines and the RAF have emphasized is that it is not that at all — but a building block for shaping the future evolution for the operation of the sea services in a hybrid strategic environment.

The Italian Air Force is building its coalition capability from the ground up at Luke AFB.

As Ninja, the first F-35 pilot to cross the Atlantic put it:

“We are learning together from the ground up. We are learning the same Tactics, Training and Procedures (TTPs) from the ground up. This builds in coalition possibilities which we can shape going forward.”

The Italian Navy has a similar opportunity at Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station.

And doing so now is crucial so that the approach and capabilities of the aircraft are seamlessly integrated into the transformation of the Italian Navy and not added as an afterthought.

It is about fifth generation enablement; not 5th generation layered on top of a legacy approach, fleet and concept of operations.

As we wrote earlier:

By having very flexible air assets operate across the Gator Navy, and the Osprey is the current driving force for change, the entire sea base operates differently.

Add the F-35 B as a “flying combat system” and the capabilities are not only enhanced by the role of each individual key ship, which can operate F-35Bs, will become key elements for the distributed force.

For the first time, amphibious ships and carriers the size of the Cavour will carry their own airborne C5ISR capabilities.

This means that the smaller ships will not only carry more organic punch, but be able to provide overwatch and strike support to a distributed fleet.

The intersection of land based and seabased assets can conjoined in coordinated operations as the F-35 fleet becomes a reality operating in the Mediterranean as well.

A ship like the Cavour, operating F-35Bs, can form a centerpiece of a maritime operational force or provide overwatch and strike support for an allied coalition force, seen as a distributed force.

Given Italy’s key location in the Mediterranean, its land and sea based assets can be blended into a more coherent capability to protect Italian interests by more effectively combining its air assets around the F-35.

For example, if one looks at the Mediterranean and considers simply the deployment of three F-35B carriers, the Cavour, the new Queen Elizabeth class or the USS America class, the Mediterranean can be considered under the reach of the air fleet but one clearly considered not as an end in itself but as integral part of joint and coalition operations.

That was in 2016; it is now five years later and now the ITS Cavour is working F-35 integration off of the U.S. East Coast.

According to a March 11, 2021 article released by the F-35 Joint Program Office Public Affairs, there is indeed significant progress being made.

WESTERN ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 11, 2021) — As the second week of F-35B sea trials aboard the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour (CVH 550) begins, talk of the test plan has turned to discussion of specific test points tallied, moving the Italian Navy one nautical mile closer to certification to operate the fifth generation fighter aboard its flagship.

Cavour set sail from Norfolk Naval Station, Virginia, Feb. 28, and specially instrumented developmental flight test jets from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 23 performed vertical landings for the first time March 1.

Since then, the embarked test team from F-35 Patuxent River Integrated Test Force (Pax River ITF) has partnered with the ship’s crew, working in some cases shoulder-to-socially-distant-shoulder to achieve test objectives.

“The first full week at sea has yielded great progress in our planned testing, and we are well on our way to capture all necessary data to permit the development of a highly useful and flexible operating bulletin for F-35 operations aboard ITS Cavour that will serve the Italian Navy well for decades to come,” said Andrew Maack, F-35 Pax River ITF chief test engineer and site director. “The leadership of ITS Cavour recognizes that our unique and sometimes unconventional flight operations are necessary to make our sea trials objectives successful and they are pulling out all the stops to provide flexible and aggressively helpful cooperation in all ship departments at all levels in the organization. The partnership could not be stronger.”

The flight deck is visible evidence of the growing working relationships.

“Watching the teamwork that Italians and Americans are doing on the deck is truly rewarding and honorable. I am proud of the excellent results achieved in just one week of work,” said ITS Cavour commanding officer Italian Navy Capt. Giancarlo Ciappina. “The cooperation between the American ITF and the Cavour ship crew represents, today, the emblem of the historic link between Italy and the USA. We feel proud protagonists of these “pages of history” for the Italian Navy and we are grateful to the American staff who is working closely with us for this achievement.”

The ship’s rhythmic rise and fall—the horizon visible one moment, gone the next—and the sometimes “angry” sea with its white caps, are the backdrop for Cavour’s ponte di volo, or flight deck. On this ‘tela’, or canvas, per se, is a rainbow of life preserver vests, inside of each is a key partner in successful air operations.

“Watching the teamwork on the deck is exciting. There is an exchange of knowledge between the professionals and we are working to the best of our abilities and skills for the success of the Ready for Operations campaign of the aircraft carrier Cavour, milestone of the Italian Navy,” said Italian Navy Cmdr. Mario Massacci.

The F-35 Pax River ITF and ITS Cavour are conducting sea trials as part of Italian Navy’s “Ready for Operations” campaign that will bring the fifth generation fighter aircraft to the navy’s flagship.

And to be blunt about it: what is the difference between 4 Harriers coming off of the deck of the ITS Cavour and a 4-ship integrated F-35 wolfpack?

A core capability which can integrate into an allied kill web is the simple answer.

A more complex answer is suggested by the graphic below:

In the graphic below, a notional intersection of F-35Bs operating off of an Italian carrier with that of the UK with that of the USN-USMC Amphibious Ready Group in the Mediterranean is represented:

The fleet operates by the machines within the plane trading data with one another so that the circles represent a common operating picture over the reach of the multiple flying assets.  The COP provides a setting within which the pilots can operate to shape situational decision making appropriate to the mission.

And the circles are actually 360 degree situational awareness enabled operating areas. The reach throughout the Mediterranean simply from three ships operating their F-35Bs and delivering situational awareness, strike and situational decision-making is significant even without considering the other assets with which the fleet will interconnect with.

By Robbin Laird and Ed Timperlake

A recent article in the London Times highlighted the new role of the Royal Navy in the Arctic. “The Royal Navy will have a regular presence in the Arctic Circle to counter the Russian strategic advantage over trade routes that will open as the ice caps melt, sources have revealed.”[1]

What this story does not highlight is the dynamic defense infrastructure which is being built underlying such an effort. That infrastructure is a combined effort for the new version of the 2^nd Fleet and the only operating NATO command on U.S. territory, the Joint Force Command Norfolk. These two commands are headed by a U.S Navy Vice Admiral, Andrew “Woody” Lewis.

The significant and dynamic innovation with these interactive and in many ways integrated commands has largely been unnoticed, although not by the Russians. With the concern with the Chinese and their policies in the Pacific and beyond, it can be forgotten that the most immediate and direct military threat to the United States emanates from the Russian Kola peninsula. Here is to be found the highest concentration of Russian military force in the world.

When the 2^nd Fleet in 2011 was sunsetted, it was a nadir of the peace dividend. Only Putin had a different agenda, which already was evident in his actions in George in 2008 and then Ukraine along with many of his public declarations since then.

With the return of Crimea to Russia via the hybrid strategy underwritten by military force, it was difficult to miss that the North Atlantic threat was back.

But Russia is not the Soviet Union. And Russia does not have a Warsaw Pact with the geography to surround Western Europe; those former Warsaw Pact members now face Russia as a competitor or partner, but outside of the direct occupation of Russian troops.

The Kola challenge is a primary one to the United States and its direct defense.

It is also a key definer of what the North Atlantic Alliance faces. This is an alliance which is not facing the core challenge of a central front and an inner-German border. For the United States, the air-maritime challenge is the core one for our direct interests; and for the relevant nations to the maritime regions in the Alliance, the Russian threat is a direct and extensional one.

A key element of the way the defense threat plays out now is a defense arc from Poland to the UK through the Nordics and from there down the path of Greenland, Iceland, Canada and the United States.

What the standup of the 2^nd Fleet in 2018 and of the Joint Force Command Norfolk more recently, these two commands signify a clear focus on shaping a credible 21^st century defense capability and infrastructure for deterrence and warfighting in the region.

The geography has returned as a core part of the North Atlantic defense challenge, but to meet the challenge new command relationships, new technologies and innovative concepts of operations are being shaped by the commands, and under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Lewis.

The Vice-Commander of Second Fleet is a very experienced Canadian Rear Admiral. The Vice-Commander of JFC is the first commander of HMS Queen Elizabeth, and a very well regarded British Rear Admiral. Those Admirals, along with a Norwegian, French, and German Admirals and a RN Commodore all have tremendous command experience at sea in navigating some of the most challenging sea states in the world.

This advanced state of very senior defense collaboration is a key incubator for the shaping of new defense capabilities, add in the emerging role of Sweden and Finland and it is an important and significantly enhanced command element compared to the Cold War period of deterrence.

These are just some of the most obvious changes.

Another one is the scope of the territory covered, as the Times article highlighted, namely the key role of defense efforts in the High North.

When the CNO in 2018, Admiral Richardson, stood up the new version of the 2nd Fleet, this is how he described the new scope of operations: “A new 2nd Fleet increases our strategic flexibility to respond — from the Eastern Seaboard to the Barents Sea. Second Fleet will approach the North Atlantic as one continuous operational space, and conduct expeditionary fleet operations where and when needed.”

The new operational area covered by 2nd Fleet synergistically shaped as well by the JFC  experienced Admirals clearly includes the Arctic, the High North more generally, and the Nordic waters.

At the time of the standup, CNO Richardson highlighted that change in this new approach. Admiral Richardson made clear the focus will be on projecting force.

“This one will be high-end, blue-water warfare using major elements of maritime power.”

Under the leadership of Vice-Admiral Lewis, the commands – for the two together really constitute the shaping of the new defense infrastructure – have pursued a very innovative approach to building out capability.

We have recently visited 2^nd Fleet and JFC, and in the weeks ahead will lay out and highlight what we have learned about the significant innovations which have been generated in shaping a maritime distributed force.

The evolving integrated distributed force is crafted to deliver the kind of defense capability required for deterrence and warfighting capabilities with the current Russian and evolving Chinese engagement in the High North Sea routes requires.

The 2^nd Fleet and JFC working relationships provide a case study of how the U.S. Navy and its evolving shift in its warfighting approach interact significantly with changes in how the cluster of “relevant” nations in the area of operations are approaching defense as well.

And the reshaping of navy concepts of operations along with the integratability with the efforts of the “relevant” nations is providing a significant way ahead for innovation in both deterrence and warfighting approaches to the Russians.

The Second Fleet has not just been reestablished; it has been transformed.

Editor’s Note: It should be noted that the stand up of the new command occurred on the carrier named for the U.S. President who was heavily involved in the emergence of the new Europe, with the creation of a unified Germany and building upon President Reagan’s efforts to end the Soviet Union. 

[1] Larisa Brown, “Royal Navy to defend Arctic trade as ice melts,” The Times (March 10, 2021).

According to a recent USAF article, the USAF has recently combined two exercises — Orange Flag and Black Flag in order to accelerate change in operating in contested airspace.

EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. (AFNS)

By 2nd Lt. Christine Saunders, Air Force Test Center Public Affairs and 1st Lt. Savanah Bray, 53rd Wing Public Affairs

Orange Flag, the large force test event carried out three times annually by Air Force Test Center’s 412th Test Wing, combined with the 53rd Wing’s Black Flag, brought several firsts for the test community March 2-4.

Both central to achieving Joint All-Domain Command and Control, the two test capabilities combined their mission planning processes and streamlined test objective synthesis. Test execution took place during a Black Flag event and two separate Orange Flag’s.

“The benefits of a combined Orange and Black Flag event include the test of materiel, technical, and tactical solutions in an integrated fashion, lower administrative overhead, and improved understanding of how to use tactics to multiply technical capabilities,” said Maj. Brandon Burfeind, Orange Flag director.

The rationale of combining the planning process is simple: Orange Flag focuses on technical integration and innovation across a breadth of technology readiness levels, while Black Flag focuses on the tactical integration of more mature technologies.

“By combining resources and some objectives with the Orange Flag enterprise, we were able to achieve desired test objectives at minimal cost to the government,” said Capt. Clifford Peterson, mission commander of Black Flag 21-1.

“Due to the combined nature of the events, we were able to get both highly data driven developmental test objectives and more operationally-focused and accurate objectives completed for similar tests.”

This iteration of Orange Flag focused on two primary objectives: kill web integration and advanced survivability.

Kill web integration included Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force and Space Force sensors and tactical networks, as well as legacy and emerging JADC2 nodes.

“Orange Flag started three years ago with the intent to assess integration of warfighting systems in a dense threat, operationally representative environment,” said Maj. Gen. Christopher Azzano, AFTC commander. “It has been tremendously successful.”

A major Orange Flag success is the testing of F-35 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor integration with land-based long-range fires, naval fires, and space-based sensors without humans-in-the-loop.

Other successes include tests on multi-national F-35’s, command and control integration, strategic intelligence surveillance, and reconnaissance integration through all domains.

This was the first official Black Flag since COMACC Plan 21 was signed in December 2020 to formalize the test event.

Black Flag focuses on testing and validating Tactics Improvement Proposals presented each year at the annual Weapons and Tactics Conference.

TIPs tested at Black Flag 21-1 included HH-60G Pave Hawk air-to-air survivability, F-35 emissions control tactics development, and continued tactics development and evaluation for the F-16 Fighting Falcon APG-83 AESA Radar, among others.

“As a venue for innovation through integration, Black Flag is ultimately a deep-end testing arena to create and discover capabilities utilizing existing and emerging materiel,” said Lt. Col. Mike Benitez, 53rd WG director of staff and Black Flag lead project officer.

“Black Flag’s largest benefit is that it’s a tactical initiative with strategic impact.”

Aligning Orange and Black Flag allows for improved integration and the combining of resources and participants to provide better test data and a more robust operationally-relevant environment.

Orange Flag, Emerald Flag, and Black Flag work in concert as the “test triad” to provide robust test environments geared toward the advancement of Joint All-Domain Operations and the National Defense Strategy.

These premier large force test events support testing of JADC2 and the Advanced Battle Management System and validate new tactics and technologies for warfighting forces.

Orange Flag welcomes event participants from every service, all domains, any organization, and a full range of technical readiness.

Orange Flag is range agnostic and will tailor range use to participant test objectives.

Meanwhile, Black Flag, developed as a venue for tactics development and for joint and coalition fighters, bombers, RPAs, space and more, remains invite-only.

The next iteration of Orange Flag, planned for June 2021, anticipates testing GatewayONE, Skyborg, and several emerging JADC2 capabilities as well as welcoming back our current participants.

The efforts of Orange Flag, Black Flag, and the 53rd WG will be on display this May at Northern Edge 2021.