On 4 December, the Swedish Armed Forces entered into an agreement with the Italian Air Force. Part of the Swedish flight training for fighter pilots will be conducted in Italy starting from January 2024 and for a period of up to ten years, according to a press release from the authority on 5 December.

The training will be conducted by the Italian air wing 61 Stormo and the training will be based at Galatina Air Base outside Lecce and Decimomannu Air Base in Sardinia. The agreement was signed by the Chief of the Air Force, Major General Jonas Wikman, and his Italian counterpart Lieutenant General Luca Goretti, Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force.

– I am pleased that the agreement is now signed and that we have the necessary conditions to start a qualified flight training that meets future requirements, says Air Force Chief Jonas Wikman, in the press release.

The Swedish Air Force will send flight instructors to both air bases to be trained on the Italian training aircraft and its training system. Thereafter, the Swedish flight instructors will serve as flight instructors at the Italian flight school, writes the Swedish Armed Forces.