On Monday, reporters from NHK and Italian media were granted access to the deck of the 244-meter-long Cavour. The ship arrived last week at the Yokosuka base of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, located in Kanagawa Prefecture, close to Tokyo.
There were eight F-35B stealth fighters and seven Harrier fighters on show.
According to Italian navy officials, the carrier is scheduled to depart Yokosuka base on Tuesday in order to participate in a combined exercise with the MSDF. The ship will make port calls in the Indo-Pacific region, notably the Philippines and India, before sailing back to Italy in November.
Cavour is the cornerstone of the Italian carrier strike group and embodies the nation’s expeditionary spirit, according to Italian Navy Chief Enrico Credendino. It provides the Italian navy with a potent projection capability, he claimed.
The joint exercises with Japan, according to Credendino, will cover all aspects of a naval operation, including air, surface, and subsurface. The goal of the exercise, according to him, is to improve communication between the Italian navy and the MSDF of Japan. He declared that his navy is prepared to train the Japanese side once more.
