Preparing for the F-35: A Shift in the Approach to Combat Pilot Training

During my visit to Italy’s International Flight Training School, I sat down with Lt. Alessio Nunziato, a student pilot in the final phase of his training before joining an operational F-35 squadron. What emerged from our conversation was a portrait of military aviation education that bears little resemblance to the relatively static training pipelines of previous generations.

Lt. Nunziato’s journey has taken him from Phase 2 at Sheppard Air Force Base in Texas through Phase 3 at Lecce-Galatina using the MB-339, and now to Phase 4 at IFTS. But the geographic progression matters far less than what he’s discovering about the fundamental nature of modern military aviation.

The Living Curriculum

“The main difference that I’m seeing between phase three and the IFTS for phase four is keeping up with the new technologies and new tactics that are shaped and kept up from the operational squadrons, for us the F-35 squadrons and Eurofighter squadrons,” Lt. Nunziato explains. “We have to keep up with the new exercises and the new challenges that we are facing nowadays.”

This isn’t theoretical talk. Since arriving at IFTS on March 31st, Lt. Nunziato has already worked through a couple updated versions of training manuals, checklists, and technical documentation. The curriculum exists in a state of constant evolution, with engineers, instructors, and students continuously absorbing modifications that reflect changing operational realities.

The mechanism driving this evolution is direct. IFTS draws its instructor pilots from active F-16, F-35, and Eurofighter squadrons, bringing in pilots who were recently executing the very missions they now teach. This creates an unusually short pipeline from operational experience to instructional practice.

Lt. Nunziato describes how this manifests in daily training: “We are doing different procedures on how to take off, using the radar that is simulated, but we are keeping up with the new procedure, listening to other guys that just come from F-35 or Eurofighter squadrons that tell how the things are done in those squadrons, and keeping up doing the same thing here in the squadron to see the same thing once we get to the new aircraft.”

A Fighter Pilot Brain Trust

The school has assembled what amounts to a remarkable concentration of tactical aviation expertise. “We have many pilots from many different squadrons, many different aircraft and different experiences,” Lt. Nunziato notes. “We have F-16 pilots, F-35, I think we got everything except F-15 pilots.” He then corrects himself, mentioning the recent arrival of an American lieutenant colonel with F-15E Strike Eagle experience.

This diversity of operational backgrounds creates a uniquely rich learning environment. Each instructor brings tactical approaches specific to their aircraft and mission set. During air combat maneuvering training, for instance, an F-16 pilot might share techniques refined in close-range engagements, while an F-35 pilot discusses sensor fusion and beyond-visual-range tactics. Students absorb multiple perspectives on solving the same tactical problems.

International by Design

The “International” in International Flight Training School represents more than marketing language. The student body includes pilots from Australia, Singapore, Canada, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, each bringing different training backgrounds and national perspectives on aviation.

This diversity extends throughout the instructor cadre. Lt. Nunziato mentions a Canadian instructor pilot currently reshaping the Basic Fighter Maneuvers manual “to make it simpler and to make it common for all the new students that are coming from different schools.”

The international composition creates natural opportunities for comparison and synthesis. Singaporean students, for example, complete their Phase 2 and 3 training in Australia before arriving at IFTS for Phase 4. American students come from multiple different background. Each pathway produces capable pilots, but differences in training philosophy and methodology become apparent when students work alongside one another.

This cross-pollination serves an eminently practical purpose. Modern coalition operations require pilots from different nations to work seamlessly together in complex airspace. By training alongside international partners and learning from instructors with varied backgrounds, students develop the flexibility to adapt their tactics and communication styles to different operational contexts. They’re building the muscle memory for coalition operations before they ever enter a combat zone.

The Challenge of Constant Change

“Our training here is something dynamic, always changing,” Lt. Nunziato observes. This dynamism presents real challenges. Students must absorb new information constantly, integrating updates while mastering fundamentals. But it also mirrors the operational reality they’ll face in frontline squadrons, where tactics, threats, and technologies evolve continuously.

The core lesson, however, transcends specific missions or tactics. “The main thing that they teach you here is that, okay, we know that the technology is rapidly advancing, but also the pilots have to advance as well with this technology,” Lt. Nunziato explains. “If we cannot keep up with the technology advancing, we may use an F-35 just like it was a Tornado 20 or 30 years ago.”

This observation identifies a critical challenge in military aviation. Fifth-generation fighters like the F-35 represent quantum leaps in capability through sensor fusion, stealth, and advanced electronic warfare. But these capabilities remain latent unless pilots possess the mindset and skills to exploit them fully. The risk isn’t just inefficiency; it’s negating billions of dollars in technological investment through cognitive inertia.

Bridging the Gap

The M-346 advanced jet trainer used at IFTS, while not itself a fifth-generation fighter, incorporates systems and interfaces designed to prepare students for that transition. “Using the hands on the throttle and stick, using all the switches that we have, and using all the capabilities that the M-346 can give you, these are basically the same capability. Of course, there will be even more, but the same concept of what the operational squadron wants from you,” Lt. Nunziato explains.

By mastering complex cockpit systems early in their training, students reduce the cognitive load when transitioning to even more capable aircraft. The leap from Phase 4 to an operational squadron becomes smaller and more manageable. “The pilot can adapt and improve, using better what you can with this next aircraft, whether it will be the F-35 or, for example, the Eurofighter.”

Mindset as Key Part of the Skillset

Throughout our conversation, Lt. Nunziato returns repeatedly to a central theme: mindset. Not situational awareness, not tactical acumen, not even flying skill, though all remain important, but rather a fundamental cognitive orientation toward continuous adaptation.

“It is the mentality that they teach you here that you always have to adapt and to be ready for what comes next, not to be sure about what you’re doing right now will stay like this forever,” he explains. “What we are doing here right now, maybe 20 years ago was not even feasible.”

The point carries particular weight given current global events. Lt. Nunziato notes that he recently practiced procedures mirroring what operational aircraft are executing “in real life, in the Baltics” which was a reference to NATO air policing missions in Eastern Europe. The training he receives in Sardinian skies directly reflects frontline operations occurring in real time.

Proof of Concept

The validation of IFTS’s approach comes from graduates now serving in operational squadrons. Lt. Nunziato reports conversations with pilots who completed Phase 4 at IFTS before transitioning to F-35 squadrons. “They’re saying that they find themselves really way more advanced in using and exploiting their own aircraft compared to the guys that did Phase 3 and Phase 4 somewhere else,” he notes.

The difference isn’t flying skill per se, but rather “that mindset of: I know how this aircraft works, I know which are its features, and I will exploit them, because I already have a mindset that was taught here.” This represents a fundamental shift in how we understand aviation excellence a shift from primary focus on technical mastery to a focus on adaptive thinking leveraging technical mastery.

Preparing for the Unknown

As Lt. Alessio Nunziato prepares to transition from student to operational F-35 pilot, he carries more than flying skills and tactical knowledge. He brings a mindset shaped by continuous adaptation, international collaboration, and direct connection to frontline operations.

Italy’s International Flight Training School isn’t just preparing pilots for the aircraft they’ll fly next year. It’s preparing them for unknown aircraft, tactics, and challenges they’ll face throughout careers that may span three decades or more. In that sense, Lt. Nunziato and his fellow students represent not just the next generation of fighter pilots, but a fundamentally new approach to what it means to be a military aviator in the 21st century.

The lesson extends beyond military aviation. In any field where technology evolves rapidly, technical skills matter less than the capacity to continuously learn, adapt, and integrate new capabilities. IFTS has recognized this reality and built it into the foundation of their training philosophy. The future belongs not to those who master today’s systems, but to those who can master tomorrow’s, whatever they may be.

I have recently visited the Italian International Flight Training School on Sardinia.

This is the sixth of several articles based on my interviews and discussions while visiting the Sardinia base in October 2025.

The AI generated image highlights the international engagement at IFTS, and the integration of the LVC ecosystem with the M-346 live aircraft. The level of integration is quite remarkable.