Italy to order 24 additional Eurofighter Typhoon fighters

5 July, 2024 Eurofighter Typhoon of the Italian Air Force. March 2024. Poland.

Photo from the Italian Air Force website The Ministry of Defense of Italy will order an additional 24 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters to replace the first series of aircraft in Tranche 1 configuration. The corresponding request for the purchase of additional fighters was published in a defense document of the Italian Ministry of Defense.

The document states that the Italian Air Force needs to purchase 24 new Typhoon fighters in the Tranche 4/5 configuration. They are to upgrade two squadrons that use aircraft built in 2002-2008.

Eurofighter Typhoon fighters of the Italian Air Force. Photo from open sources

Anonymous sources in the Italian Ministry of Defense say that they are currently considering the option of purchasing specialized electronic warfare aircraft based on the Typhoon fighter.

This option is currently being developed by the German side, which seeks to replace its fleet of aging Panavia Tornado ECR electronic warfare aircraft. The Italian Air Force is also searching for specialized electronic warfare aircraft to replace its fleet of Panavia Tornado ECRs. Italy has 94 Typhoon fighters in service, 80 of which are single-seaters and another 14 are trainer-combat aircraft.

Typhoon IPA2 aircraft laboratory of the Italian Air Force with Storm Shadow missiles.

Photo credits: Aeronautica Militare

In addition, 14 specialized Panavia Tornado ECR electronic warfare aircraft are still in service. In addition to Italy, Germany has placed orders for additional fighters in the amount of 38 units, and Spain in the amount of 45 units. For these countries, they will be produced in the Tranche 4/5 configuration.

Earlier, Militarnyi reported that the Turkish Ministry of Defense planned to order European Eurofighter Typhoon fighters to strengthen the country's air component.