I am not Italian, rather swedish, but what I have seen from Meloni in reality is that she has taken a very firm stance against Putin and his war on Ukraine and has given huge amounts of military equipment (scroll down to Italy to see what military equipment they have given) and and money to Ukraine. Meloni has never stood in the way of political decisions to support Ukraine or sanctions against Russia to my knowledge, rather has been at the forefront of implementing them and has continuously condemned Putin and Russia’s agression. Exactly in what way is Meloni a puppet of Putin?
Uses a license produced engine from US (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volvo_RM12), which has caused endless problems in exports for SAAB, since the US blocks them frequently when they are about to win a contract.
I would go for Rafale or Eurofighter and I am saying this as a swede. We need to replace the engines ASAP. Perhaps a UK, German or French one. Would probably take years to develop thought and likely a significant overhaul will be necessary.