, colours = , colours_label = , march = (Ordinance March of the Air Force) by Alberto Di Miniello , mascot = , anniversaries = 28 March (Air Force Day) , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = , decorations = , battle_honours = , battle_honours_label = , flying_hours = , website = , commander1 = Generale di squadra

Luca Goretti The last universal common ancestor (LUCA) is the most recent population from which all organisms now living on Earth share common descent—the most recent common ancestor of all current life on Earth. This includes all Cell (biology), cellula ...

, commander1_label = Chief of Staff of Air Force , notable_commanders = , identification_symbol = Roundel of Italy

, identification_symbol_label =

Roundel A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...

, identification_symbol_2 = Roundel of Italy – Low Visibility – Type 1

Roundel of Italy – Low Visibility – Type 2

Roundel of Italy – Low Visibility – Type 3

, identification_symbol_2_label = Roundel Low Visibility , aircraft_attack =

Panavia Tornado The Panavia Tornado is a family of twin-engine, variable-sweep wing multirole combat aircraft, jointly developed and manufactured by Italy, the United Kingdom and West Germany. There are three primary Tornado variants: the Tornado IDS (inter ...

AMX International AMX The AMX International AMX is a ground-attack aircraft jointly developed by Brazil and Italy. The AMX is designated A-11 Ghibli by the Italian Air Force and A-1 by the Brazilian Air Force. The Italian name, "Ghibli", is taken from the hot dry ...

, aircraft_bomber = , aircraft_electronic =

Gulfstream G550 The Gulfstream G550 is a business jet aircraft produced by General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G500. Gulfstream ...

Alenia C-27J The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016). It is an advanced derivative of Alenia Aeronautica's earlier G.222 (C-27A Spartan in ...

, aircraft_fighter =

Eurofighter Typhoon The Eurofighter Typhoon is a European multinational twin-engine, canard delta wing, multirole fighter. The Typhoon was designed originally as an air-superiority fighter and is manufactured by a consortium of Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo ...

F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide ele ...

, aircraft_helicopter =

Agusta-Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Twin Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Quebec, Canada in ...

MD 500 Defender The McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Systems MD 500 Defender is a light multi-role military helicopter based on the MD 500 light utility helicopter and OH-6 Cayuse Light Observation Helicopter. Design and development The original OH-6 Cayuse helic ...

AgustaWestland AW101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...

AgustaWestland AW139 The AgustaWestland AW139 is a medium-lift twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, later wholly owned by Leonardo S.p.A. It is marketed at several different roles, including V ...

, aircraft_helicopter_attack = , aircraft_helicopter_cargo = , aircraft_helicopter_multirole = , aircraft_helicopter_observation = , aircraft_trainer = Alenia M-346 Master, Alenia M-345, Piaggio P.180,

Tecnam P2006T The Tecnam P2006T is an Italian high-winged twin-engined all-metal light aircraft, built by Costruzioni Aeronautiche Tecnam based in Capua, Italy, near Naples. The P2006T received airworthiness certification in the European Union by EASA under C ...

Aermacchi MB-339 The Aermacchi MB-339 is a military jet trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Italian aviation company Aermacchi. The MB-339 was developed during the 1970s in response to an Italian Air Force requirement that sought a re ...

SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 The SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 (now Leonardo SF-260) is an Italian light aircraft which has been commonly marketed as a military trainer and aerobatics aircraft. The SF.260 was designed by Italian aircraft designer Stelio Frati, while production wo ...

, McDonnell Douglas MD 500 , aircraft_helicopter_utility = , aircraft_interceptor = , aircraft_patrol =

ATR 72 The ATR 72 is a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (french: Avions de transport régional or it, Aerei da Trasporto Regionale), a joint venture formed b ...

, aircraft_recon =

Beechcraft Super King Air The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by Beechcraft. The Model 200 and Model 300 series were originally marketed as the "Super King Air" family; the "Super" designation was dropped in 1996. ...

, aircraft_helicopter_trainer = , aircraft_transport =

Alenia C-27J Spartan The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a military transport aircraft developed and manufactured by Leonardo's Aircraft Division (formerly Alenia Aermacchi until 2016). It is an advanced derivative of Alenia Aeronautica's earlier G.222 (C-27A Spartan in ...

Piaggio P.180 Avanti The Piaggio P.180 Avanti is an Italian executive transport aircraft with twin turboprop engines mounted in pusher configuration. It seats up to nine people in a Cabin pressurization, pressurized cabin and may be flown by one or two Pilot (aerona ...

, Airbus A319CJ,

Airbus A340-500 The Airbus A340 is a long-range, wide-body passenger airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. In the mid-1970s, Airbus conceived several derivatives of the A300, its first airliner, and developed the A340 quadjet in parallel with ...

Dassault Falcon 50 The Dassault Falcon 50 is a French super-midsize, long-range business jet, featuring a trijet layout with an S-duct air intake for the central engine. It has the same fuselage cross-section and similar capacity as the earlier twin-engined Falcon ...

Dassault Falcon 900 The Dassault Falcon 900, commonly abbreviated as the F900, is a French-built corporate trijet aircraft made by Dassault Aviation. Development The Falcon 900 is a development of the Falcon 50, itself a development of the earlier Falcon 20. Th ...

C-130J Super Hercules The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is a four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is the newest v ...

, aircraft_tanker =

Boeing KC-767 The Boeing KC-767 is a military aerial refueling and strategic transport aircraft developed from the Boeing 767-200ER. The tanker received the designation KC-767A, after being selected by the U.S. Air Force (USAF) initially to replace older ...

, KC-130J Hercules , aircraft_general = The Italian Air Force ( it, Aeronautica Militare; AM, ) is the

air force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

of the

Italian Republic Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by

King Victor Emmanuel III King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

as the ("Royal Air Force"). After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when Italy became a

republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

following a referendum, the was given its current name. Since its formation, the service has held a prominent role in modern Italian military history. The acrobatic display team is the .

History

Early history and World War I

Italy was among the earliest adopters of military aviation. Its air arm dates back to 1884, when the

Italian Royal Army The Royal Italian Army ( it, Regio Esercito, , Royal Army) was the land force of the Kingdom of Italy, established with the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy. During the 19th century Italy started to unify into one country, and in 1861 Manfre ...

() was authorised to acquire its own air component. The Air Service () operated balloons based near Rome. MinisteroAeronautica

In 1911, reconnaissance and bombing sorties during the

Italo-Turkish War The Italo-Turkish or Turco-Italian War ( tr, Trablusgarp Savaşı, "Tripolitanian War", it, Guerra di Libia, "War of Libya") was fought between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire from 29 September 1911, to 18 October 1912. As a result o ...

by the ''Servizio Aeronautico'' represented the first use of heavier-than-air aircraft in armed conflict.

The and World War II

On 28 March 1923, the Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...

. This air force was known as the (Royal Air Force). During the 1930s, the fledgling was involved in its first military operations, first in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

in 1935, and later in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

between 1936 and 1939. After a period of neutrality, Italy entered World War II on 10 June 1940 alongside Germany. The ''Regia Aeronautica'' could deploy more than 3,000 aircraft, although fewer than 60% were serviceable. It fought from the icy steppes of Russia to the sands of the North African desert, losing men and machines. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, Italy was divided into two sides, and the same fate befell the . The Air Force was split into the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies, and the pro-Axis in the north until the end of the war. On 8 May 1945, the hostilities ended, beginning the rebirth of military aviation in Italy.

The birth of and the Cold War

A popular vote by the people resulted in the end of the

and the establishment of the

on 18 June 1946. Hence the lost its "Royal" designation, and it became the , a name that it has continued to hold ever since. The Peace Treaty of Paris of 1947 placed severe restrictions on all of the Italian armed forces, but the establishment of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

in 1949 with Italy as a founding member brought about the necessity for the modernization of all of the Italian armed forces, including the Italian Air Force. American military aid sent by the Mutual Defense Assistance Program brought about the introduction of American-made

P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

and

P-51 Mustang The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in April 1940 by a team headed by James ...

propeller-driven

fighter plane Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield p ...

s. In 1952, the Italian Air Force was granted jet fighters for the first time, American F-84G Thunderjets and F-86D Sabres, together with over 200 licence-built British

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...

s; these were followed by

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version ...

fighters and

C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechaniz ...

transport plane A cargo aircraft (also known as freight aircraft, freighter, airlifter or cargo jet) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is designed or converted for the carriage of cargo rather than passengers. Such aircraft usually do not incorporate passenger am ...

s from the United States. The reborn Italian aviation industry also began to develop and produce a few ingenious aircraft designs of its own, such as the

Fiat G91 The Fiat G.91 is an Italian jet fighter aircraft designed and built by Fiat Aviazione, which later merged into Aeritalia. The G.91 has its origins in the NATO-organised NBMR-1 competition in 1953, which sought a light fighter-bomber (offici ...

, the

Aermacchi MB-326 The Aermacchi or Macchi MB-326 is a light military jet trainer designed in Italy. Originally conceived as a two-seat trainer, there have also been single and two-seat light attack versions produced. It is one of the most commercially successf ...

, the Piaggio Aero P.166 and the line of Agusta-Bell helicopters. The first supersonic

fighters Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to: Combat and warfare * Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict * Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...

added to the Italian Air Force were American-designed

F-104 Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...

s that were produced by a group of several European aircraft companies, including

Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) was a West German aerospace manufacturer. It was formed during the late 1960s as the result of efforts to consolidate the West German aerospace industry; aircraft manufacturer Messerschmitt AG merged with the civi ...

, Dornier,

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

Fokker Fokker was a Dutch aircraft manufacturer named after its founder, Anthony Fokker. The company operated under several different names. It was founded in 1912 in Berlin, Germany, and became famous for its fighter aircraft in World War I. In 1919 ...

and

SABCA SABCA (Sociétés Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques) is a Belgian aerospace company. Its main sectors of activity are civil aviation, space and defence. SABCA was established during 1920. Presently, it is owned by the French aircraf ...

. During the 1970s, the Air Force acquired the Italian Aeritalia G222 and the modern American

C-130 Hercules The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 ...

tactical transport planes, capable of carrying cargo or

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during World ...

s. It also received the new

Aeritalia F-104S Starfighter The Aeritalia F-104S Starfighter was a licensed production Italian version of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, which served in the Italian Air Force, and was its mainstay from the late 1960s until the beginning of the 21st century. The F-104S als ...

Starfighter fighters for ground attack and air-defence purposes. Eurofighter Typhoon 02

Italian Air Force Hercules C-130J-30 departs RIAT Fairford 14thJuly2014 arp

A push to expand the Italian aircraft industry led Italy into the huge trilateral project that developed the

fighter-bomber and air-defence fighters along with

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

and the United Kingdom. Tornado fighters were still in service with all three countries, plus a few more, as of 2019. Italian companies worked with the Embraer Company of Brazil in a smaller project to develop and produce the

aircraft.

From the end of the Cold War to present day

In 1990, after the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i invasion of

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, Italy joined the coalition forces, and for the first time in 45 years Italian pilots and aircraft were assigned to combat operations. Needing to replace the obsolete F-104 Starfighters, Italy joined with Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom in the development of the

, which was expected to enter the Italian Air Force in 2000. In 1994, with the Typhoon still some years from introduction to service, 24 Panavia Tornado Air Defense Variant (ADV) interceptors were leased from the United Kingdom for a period of 10 years. The ADV Tornados served as fighter-interceptors to supplement and then to replace the old F-104 Starfighters. However, delays in the production of the Typhoon forced the Italians to seek a supplement, and then replacement, for the leased Tornado ADVs. With the UK lease due to expire in 2004, the Italian government wished to avoid a costly lease extension and instead opted to lease 34

F-16 Fighting Falcon The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful ...

multi-role fighter planes on multi-year leases from the US. The last of these fighters was returned to the United States in May 2012, following the Italian Air Force's acquisition of a sufficient number of Typhoons over a period of several years. The Typhoons are intended to replace all of the F-104, Tornado ADV and F-16 aircraft. The last of the Italian F-104s was withdrawn from service in 2004. Armed conflicts in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

and the nearby

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

led to the Italian Air Force becoming a participant in multinational air forces, such as that of NATO over the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

, just a few minutes flying time east of the Italian peninsula. The commanders of the Italian Air Force soon saw the need to improve the Italian air defences. The capability of the Italian Air Force as a transportation unit has been improved with the acquisition of 22 American C-130J tactical transports and 12 Alenia C-27J Spartans, which have replaced all of the G222s. In 2003, the Italian Air Force extended its capabilities to small-scale land warfare by small special-forces units. This was accomplished by forming the

17º Stormo Incursori The 17th Raiders Wing ( it, 17º Stormo Incursori) is the Italian Air Force special forces unit. It is the youngest special force created in Italy. It is based in Furbara, near Rome and part of the ''Comando interforze per le Operazioni delle ...

("17th Special Operations Wing"), also known as RIAM (, "Air Force Raiders Group"), a unit that is primarily responsible for raids on land-based aeronautical compounds,

forward air control Forward air control is the provision of guidance to close air support (CAS) aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller (FAC). ...

missions and

combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refuelin ...

operations.

Equipment

As of 2014, the Italian Air Force operates a total active fleet of 557 aerial vehicles, including 209 manned and 12

unmanned An uncrewed vehicle or unmanned vehicle is a vehicle without a person on board. Uncrewed vehicles can either be under telerobotic control—remote controlled or remote guided vehicles—or they can be autonomously controlled—autonomous vehicl ...

combat aircraft, with eight more

on order and 75 more

F-35 The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, all-weather stealth multirole combat aircraft that is intended to perform both air superiority and strike missions. It is also able to provide elect ...

s planned.Air Forces 2013".

Flightglobal.com FlightGlobal is an online news and information website which covers the aviation and aerospace industries. The website was established in February 2006 as the website of ''Flight International'' magazine, ''Airline Business'', ''ACAS'', ''Air ...

, 11 December 2012.Statistics 2014"
15 May 2014

Organisation

Rank structure

;Officers ;Enlisted

References

Sources

* * Malizia, Nicola. ''F-47D "Thunderbolt" (Aviolibri Records n.6)'' (Bilingual Italian/English). Rome, Italy: IBN Editore, 2005. . * Mattioli, Marco. ''Lockheed P-38 Lightning in Italian Service, 1943–1955 (Aviolibri Records n.4)'' (Bilingual Italian/English). Rome, Italia: IBN Editore, 2004. . *

External links

Aeronautica Militare web page
{{Authority control Military units and formations established in 1923 Aeronautica Militare 1923 establishments in Italy