Italy is evaluating the implementation of landing its fifth-generation F-35 fighters on specific highway sections. This idea was voiced by Lieutenant General Silvano Frigerio, Commander of Operational Forces of the Italian Air Force, earlier this month at the Dominio Globale forum, which among other topics discussed aerospace issues.
The Aviationist reports on this. As of today, there has been no official announcement about a separate program or timelines for implementing such capability. However, the ability of F-35 fighters to land on highways during full-scale war represents a very important factor when the enemy can deliver devastating strikes on airbases. This is especially true when not all airfields are equipped with hangars, meaning the threat comes not only from missile weapons but also from long-range drones.
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Questions may arise whether the F-35 is even capable of highway operations. The answer is quite straightforward: yes. We can recall that in 2024 the U.S. Air Force marked a historic event when two F-35A Lightning IIs landed on a pre-prepared highway section in Finland as part of implementing the Agile Combat Employment (ACE) concept, which precisely envisions force dispersal under conditions of hostile strikes on basing locations. A year earlier, Norway demonstrated the F-35's ability to take off from highways.
This specifically concerns the F-35A. At the same time, it should be noted that Italy also receives F-35B variants, which can operate from very short highway sections.
It is important to understand that when discussing fighter operations from highways, this does not mean the aircraft can simply choose any section and land wherever desired.
As the publication emphasizes, Italy has a highway network totaling over 7,000 km. If they truly undertake the issue of fighter highway operations, one of the first tasks will be identifying specific sections for this project, as well as determining how rapid closure of designated sections for training exercises will occur.
Overall, such a project requires considerable time, adequate funding, as well as timely coordination between both military and civilian structures.
In case of successful implementation, this represents a sound investment in the ability to remain flexible in the event of full-scale war with a serious adversary.
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