Italy looks to fighter friend Japan for a new maritime-patrol plane

ROME — Italy is considering buying the Japanese Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft to tackle hostile submarines in the Mediterranean, a move which would break an Italian tradition of U.S. aircraft purchases and strengthen ties with Tokyo.

“The P-1 is is one of the possible options available,” Italian Air Force chief Luca Goretti told reporters on Friday when asked how Italy aimed to fill gaps in its maritime patrol capability.

“We have a great relationship with Japan,” he added.

A four engine platform designed from scratch as a maritime patrol aircraft, the P-1 has been in service in Japan since 2013. While export efforts to date have not been successful, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force now operates 33 aircraft.

As Italy retired the last of its long serving Atlantique maritime patrol planes in 2017 it acquired ATR 72′s jointly built by Airbus and local firm Leonardo to fill the role, operated by mixed Air Force and Navy crews.

But while offering electronically scanned radar, the aircraft lacked anti-submarine warfare capabilities and were only considered a gap filler.

A new purchase to fill that gap would coincide with renewed naval activity in the Mediterranean by friendly and hostile powers.

Acquiring the P-1 instead of the US P-8 aircraft would follow years in which Italy has looked to the U.S. for imported aircraft including B767 tankers, C-130s, Gulfstream sensor aircraft, F-35s and Reaper drones.

Italy has recently boosted ties with Japan as the two countries team with the U.K. on the GCAP sixth-generation fighter program .

In 2023, Leonardo also pitched its M-346 jet trainer to Japan to replace Tokyo’s Kawasaki T-4 trainers after Japanese pilots were dispatched to train on the M-346 in Italy.

In an address to the Italian parliament about the GCAP program on March 13, Air Force chief Goretti said working with Japan on the sixth-generation jet was prompting discussion about other possible team-ups.

“Right now there is an Italian delegation in Japan because there are other chances for growth with (Japan) including the development of a trainer for them as well as a joint patrol aircraft,” he said. “Our collaboration has opened other horizons which were unthinkable until very recently,” he added.

Goretti’s suggestion of an Italian jet trainer deal with Japan and a Japanese patrol aircraft deal with Italy hinted at a possible trade-off which recalls how Italy sold the M-346 to Israel in 2012 in return for buying Israeli sensor-laden Gulfstreams and an Israeli surveillance satellite.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利正在考虑购买日本川崎P-1海上巡逻机，以应对地中海的敌对潜艇。此举将打破意大利购买美国飞机的传统，并加强与东京的关系。

意大利空军司令卢卡·戈雷蒂周五在被问及意大利打算如何填补其海上巡逻能力的空白时告诉记者：“P-1 是可行的选择之一。”

“我们与日本有着良好的关系，”他补充道。

P-1 是一款从零开始设计的四引擎海上巡逻机，自 2013 年以来一直在日本服役。虽然迄今为止的出口努力尚未成功，但日本海上自卫队目前拥有 33 架该型飞机。

2017 年，意大利退役了最后一架服役多年的 Atlantique 海上巡逻机，并购入了由空客和当地公司莱昂纳多联合制造的 ATR 72 飞机来填补空缺，这些飞机由空军和海军的混合机组人员操作。

虽然该飞机配备了电子扫描雷达，但缺乏反潜作战能力，只能被视为一种填补空白的机型。

为填补这一空白而进行的新采购，将与友好国家和敌对国家在地中海重新开展海军活动同时发生。

如果意大利最终选择采购 P-1 而不是美国的 P-8 飞机，那么意大利多年来一直寻求从美国进口飞机，包括 B767 加油机、C-130、湾流传感器飞机、F-35 和死神无人机。

意大利最近加强了与日本的关系，两国与英国合作开展GCAP第六代战斗机项目。

2023 年，莱昂纳多公司还向日本推销其 M-346 喷气式教练机，以取代东京的川崎 T-4 教练机。此前，日本飞行员被派往意大利接受 M-346 的训练。

3月13日，空军司令戈雷蒂在意大利议会就GCAP项目发表讲话时表示，与日本合作研发第六代战机正在引发关于其他可能合作项目的讨论。

“目前意大利在日本设有代表团，因为与日本在其他领域还有发展机遇，包括为其研发教练机以及联合巡逻机，”他说道。“我们的合作开辟了新的前景，这在不久前还是难以想象的，”他补充道。

戈雷蒂建议意大利与日本达成喷气式教练机交易，日本与意大利达成巡逻机交易，这暗示了一种可能的交换，让人想起意大利在 2012 年向以色列出售 M-346 教练机，以换取以色列购买装有传感器的湾流飞机和一颗以色列监视卫星。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。