Starfighters Aerospace (the US company that today operates the world’s only fleet of flight-ready F-104 supersonic aircraft) accepted an invitation to join the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force, ItAF) this year.
As recently reported, Starfighters Aerospace (the US company that today operates the world’s only fleet of flight-ready F-104 supersonic aircraft) accepted an invitation to join the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Aeronautica Militare (Italian Air Force, ItAF) this year. The centenary of Italian military aviation will be celebrated during the weekend of 16 to 18 June 2023 with an air show at Pratica di Mare Air Base.
It was initially announced that the plan was to send two F-104 Starfighters to Italy.
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The Starfighters’ “Black Beauty” (as the TF-104G adorned with the black unique paint scheme is dubbed by the company) performed her maiden flight wearing her striking color scheme on Jan. 27, 2023.
Starfighters Aerospace’s F-104s are used for a variety of tasks: captive carry of payloads and test articles, microgravity experiments, supersonic and hypersonic RDT&E, spaceflight hardware testing/qualification, suborbital spaceflight simulation, air-launch of microsatellites, human factors and flight physiology research, jet warbird type training and familiarization for pilots, avionics testing/qualification, flight suit testing and qualification, sponsored video production, and adversary air training support.
Based at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and operating under authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration, these aircraft are available to government and commercial customers for a variety of missions.
Photo credit: Matt Haskell for Starfighters Aerospace
