ROME — A longstanding acquaintance and former employee of Donald Trump who has taken on the title of U.S. special envoy to Italy is pushing for America to enter the Euro-Japanese GCAP fighter plane program.
The unusual proposal was made by Paolo Zampolli, a Italian former New York model agency manager who introduced President Trump to his wife Melania in 1998 and worked for a period as a real estate manager for Trump.
A frequent guest at the president’s Mar a Lago residence in Florida, Zampolli is also ambassador to the UN for the Caribbean island of Dominica.
In a Feb. 22 interview with Italian newspaper Il Giornale, Zampolli said he had been appointed by Trump as his special envoy to Italy days earlier.
“The other day, the president, in front of ten people, suddenly pointed at me and asked me to be a special envoy,” he said.
“He is always very busy and quick. He says a few words and solves problems,” he added.
Last week, Zampolli was back in his home country, holding meetings with senior government officials including Italian deputy prime minster, Matteo Salvini.
After the meeting, Salvini posted on X that he had had a “cordial and constructive meeting at the ministry with Paolo Zampolli, special envoy to Italy chosen by Donald Trump.”
He added, “It was an occasion to confirm the excellent relations with the new U.S. administration and reinforce the economic and commercial ties between the two countries.”
During an interview on prime time Italian TV with Italy’s best known TV host, Bruno Vespa, Zampolli said he would focus on defense industry ties between Italy and the United States.
In a phone interview with Defense News, Zampolli said he had been discussing the idea of the U.S. entering the tri-nation Global Combat Air Programme, which groups the U.K., Italy and Japan.
As the U.S. focuses on its own concepts for the sixth generation fighter, Zampolli said a unified program, was “a very wise idea” since it would save funds for both the U.S. and the U.K., Italy and Japan.
He added, “If you want to get a plane done, it is better to work together.”
He said, “If you want a new plane you need the U.S.”
Zampolli said the idea had not come from President Trump. “I have not discussed this with the president,” he said, adding, “It’s an early conversation.”
But he said “it would work for everybody.”
Zampolli added that after discussing the idea during his meetings in Italy, “people want to look into it.”
In December, the British, Japanese and Italian firms partnered on the GCAP fighter announced the launch of a joint venture dedicated to the program which will be headquartered in London.
The firms will work with the U.K.-based program office which teams the three government customers to get the fighter in service by 2035.
In the U.S., both the Air Force and Navy are working on sixth-generation fighter programs.
Asked for its views on Zampolli’s proposal that the U.S. enter the GCAP program to promote savings, U.S. warplane maker Lockheed Martin told Defense News:
“Lockheed Martin stands ready to help our customers achieve their national security missions. Questions regarding GCAP as a trilateral government program are best directed to the respective governments involved.”
Zampolli’s mission to Italy took some Italian politicians by surprise.
Asked about him by reporters, Italy’s foreign minister and second deputy prime minister, Antonio Tajani, said, “Zampolli who?”
Asked about the precise nature of Zampolli’s areas of responsibility, the U.S. Embassy in Rome referred the question to the White House press office, which has been contacted for response by Defense News.
Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.
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