ROME — Italy is considering buying the Japanese Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft to tackle hostile submarines in the Mediterranean, a move which would break an Italian tradition of U.S. aircraft purchases and strengthen ties with Tokyo.“The P-1 is is one of the possible options available,” Italian Air Force chief Luca Goretti told reporters on Friday when asked how Italy aimed to fill gaps in its maritime patrol capability.“We have a great relationship with Japan,” he added.A four engine platform designed from scratch as a maritime patrol aircraft, the P-1 has been in service in Japan since 2013. While export efforts to date have not been successful, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force now operates 33 aircraft.As Italy retired the last of its long serving Atlantique maritime patrol planes in 2017 it acquired ATR 72′s jointly built by空中客车和当地公司伦纳多（Leonardo）填补这一角色，由混合空军和海军船员运营。飞机将遵循意大利向美国寻求进口飞机的数年，包括B767油轮，C-130，湾流传感器飞机，F-35s和Reaper无人机。川崎T-4培训师在日本飞行员被派往意大利的M-346培训。