Italian Typhoon flies in Beast Mode with new GBU-48 bombs

The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare – AMI) posted on its Twitter a photo of one of its Eurofighter Typhoon multirole fighters in Beast Mode configuration during training.

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In the picture, the aircraft of the 4th Stormo (4th Wing) from Grosseto Air Base is armed with an impressive payload of four AIM-120 AMRAAM active radar guided missiles, two IRIS-T heat guided missiles, four GBU-48 Enhanced bombs Paveway II, two underwing tanks and one Litening pod for targeting and bomb guidance.

The GBU-48 is a new 16kg (454 lb) version of the GBU-1000 Paveway II. While the 16 is laser-guided only, the 48 can be guided by both laser and GPS, increasing deployment capabilities. 

According to The Aviationist, something that draws attention, in addition to the new bombs, is the fact that AMI is increasingly adopting Swing Role configurations in its F-2000A, as Typhoons are called in Italy (the two-seaters are called TF-2000A).

Swing Role is the ability of a multirole fighter to quickly change roles in a mission, being able to perform an air-to-air engagement or a ground attack according to the rapid changes of need at the time of combat. 

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Initially, AMI did not plan to deploy its Typhoons on air-to-ground missions, leaving those to its A-11B Ghibli (AMX) and Panavia Tornado fighter-bombers. 

In 2016, during its participation in the multinational exercise Red Flag, in the United States, three Italian fighters were already Tranche 2, with upgrades from the P1E(B) series and with the latest software updates, which allowed the planes to carry a Litening pod and two GBU-16 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, in order to validate tactics under development since 2015, when Tranche 2s began Operational Tests and Evaluations. 

At the time, AMI stated that Swing Role capabilities were being developed only to sales of the aircraft, helping the industry to promote the fighter in specific regions (in this case Kuwait, which acquired 28 fighters in 2016). 

After Red Flag, a group of experienced pilots was assigned to the new role and the crews that were already qualified for dual roles participated in a TLP (Tactical Leadership Program) course at Albacete Air Force Base, flying the Swing Role mission.

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“Air superiority remains our primary mission,” Colonel Pederzolli, commander of the 4th Stormo, told the portal during an interview in 2016.

"However, in the last year, using software releases that incorporate significant air-to-surface potential, we began flying Swing Role missions with the goal of achieving limited secondary air-to-ground capability.”

Earlier this month, AMI published footage of two Typhoons from the 36th Stormo returning to base after a training mission in Swing Role configuration.

Between March 2019 and August 2020, AMI deployed Typhoons to Kuwait to conduct reconnaissance missions in of Operation Inherent Resolve, fighting the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

Employing the RecceLite II pod (reconnaissance version of the Litening), the fighters flew over 2000 hours in the Middle East, a milestone in the multirole evolution of the F-2000A. 

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The integration of the modern GBU-48 and the increased Swing Role capabilities of the Typhoon is an evolution for the AMI, following in the footsteps of the Royal Air Force — a pioneer in the air-to-ground use of the 4.5 Generation fighter, having employed the Storm Shadow cruise missile recently — and the German Air Force, which had already integrated the bomb into its fighter jets.

RAF Typhoon FGR.4 with ASRAAM and Meteor air-to-air missiles, Brimstone air-to-ground missiles and Paveway IV bombs. Photo: RAF.

Gabriel Centeno

Author Gabriel Centeno

Journalism student at UFRGS, spotter and military aviation enthusiast.

Categories: Military, News

Tags: Pumps, Italian Air Force, Typhoon, usaexport

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