@Groomschild @professionalbigot69 Would you believe me the Italian Air Force had their OWN homebrew modifications of the F-104 Starfighter, well into the 2000s up until 2004?
Picrel is the F-104G kept in a historical museum I've been to some time ago, they basically reverse engineered Boeing's airplanes and made their own improved versions well into the era where it became HOPELESSLY outmatched by aircraft with superior maneuberability being rolled out around that time.