Italian Air Force

Aeronautica Militare

The Aeronautica Militare is one of the oldest independent air forces in the world, four years younger than the Royal Air Force and twenty-four years older than the United States Air Force, and the only air arm outside America that assembles the F-35 it flies — about 175 combat aircraft, roughly 40,000 people and twenty flying bases, carrying a hundred-year record that includes both the Frecce Tricolori and the worst-equipped major air force of the Second World War.

National markingThe coccarda — green centre, white ring, red outer — used from 1917 to 1918 and again from 1943

Low-visibilitySubdued grey coccarda on Typhoon, Tornado and F-35 since 1991

Wing markingSquadron and wing badges on the fin, with the wing number and aircraft number on the fuselage, as in 4-1 for the 4° Stormo

162Combat aircraft

37Active air bases

1923Founded

45Types retired

Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

CountryItalyFounded1923StatusActiveHeadquartersPalazzo Aeronautica, RomeCommanderGenerale di squadra aerea Antonio Conserva

The story

The Italian Air Force story: a hundred years between propaganda and the F-35

1884–1923: from a balloon section to the world’s second independent air force

Italy was in the air early and organised about it early. A Servizio Aeronautico was authorised inside the army engineers in 1884 to fly captive balloons; the first Italian military pilot’s licence went to a naval officer, Mario Calderara, in September 1909, after Wilbur Wright came to Rome and taught at Centocelle; and in 1911–12, over Libya, Italian aircraft flew the first reconnaissance, the first bombing and the first aerial photographic missions in the history of warfare. The First World War turned that into an industry — Caproni bombers above all — and into a vocabulary of aces that the service still uses: Francesco Baracca’s prancing horse, Pier Ruggero Piccio, the squadriglia. The reward came on 28 March 1923, when a royal decree made the Regia Aeronautica a service in its own right, four years after the RAF and twenty-four before the United States Air Force.

1923–1939: records, ocean crossings and a biplane that won the wrong competition

The Fascist regime loved the air force for exactly the reasons that later ruined it. Italo Balbo, air minister from 1929, understood aviation as spectacle: the mass Atlantic crossings of 1930–31 and 1933, the Schneider Trophy programme, and on 23 October 1934 Francesco Agello’s 709.202 km/h in the Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 — still the fastest a piston-engined seaplane has ever gone. Behind the records the procurement was going badly wrong. The mid-1930s fighter competition was effectively won by the Fiat C.R.42 Falco, a fixed-undercarriage biplane with two machine guns, of which 1,782 were built and which was still coming off the line in 1943. Spain had taught the wrong lesson: that agility beat speed. The first Italian monoplanes, the Fiat G.50 and the Macchi C.200, were slower and more lightly armed than the Hurricanes and Spitfires they would meet.

1940–1945: the war the Regia Aeronautica could not fight, and the two air forces that came out of it

On 10 June 1940 the Regia Aeronautica had impressive numbers and the wrong aeroplanes. Mussolini insisted on sending a corps to the Battle of Britain; open-cockpit C.R.42s without radios or dinghies over the winter North Sea produced a short and disastrous campaign that was quietly ended. Aircrew flew well: the torpedo-bomber squadrons on the S.M.79 Sparviero were feared in the Mediterranean, and the C.202 Folgore and C.205 Veltro, once German Daimler-Benz engines were licence-built, were a match for anything — but only 252 Veltros were ever finished. Worse than the equipment was the doctrine. Balbo’s law gave the air force a monopoly on everything that flew, so Italy built no aircraft carrier and no naval air arm; an admiral at sea could not call for air support directly. After the armistice of 8 September 1943 the service split in two: the Aeronautica Cobelligerante in the south flew with the Allies over the Balkans, while the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana flew Veltros and Bf 109s for the Salò republic until April 1945. Five years of war cost the air force thousands of dead and missing; no official total has ever been published.

1946–1990: Sabres, Starfighters and the lament of the taxpayer

The republic renamed the service Aeronautica Militare on 17 June 1946 and rebuilt it inside NATO on American hardware — Thunderjets, Sabres, Thunderstreaks — then on something Italian. The Fiat G.91, which won the 1954 NATO light strike competition, was the first and for a long time the only Italian combat aircraft other countries bought. Then came the Starfighter, and with it the darkest running argument in the service’s post-war history. Italy took well over a hundred F-104Gs — sources give between 105 and 149 — and built 205 F-104S under licence at Turin, flew the type for forty-one years and retired the world’s last front-line Starfighters in 2004; it also lost 137 Starfighters of all marks to accidents over that period, 38 per cent of the fleet. The same period gave the service the Frecce Tricolori, formed at Rivolto on 1 March 1961, and the quiet Cold War job of watching the central Mediterranean from Trapani, Gioia del Colle and Decimomannu.

1991–2011: Locusta, the Balkans and Libya — learning to go first

The Gulf War ended forty-five years in which no Italian aircrew had flown a combat mission. Operation Locusta sent eight Tornado IDS (later ten) to Al Dhafra in the United Arab Emirates. On the first night, 17–18 January 1991, turbulence defeated the tanker rendezvous and thirty-seven of the thirty-eight aircraft turned back; Major Gianmarco Bellini and Captain Maurizio Cocciolone pressed on alone, bombed their target, were hit by anti-aircraft fire and spent forty-seven days as prisoners of war, their bruised faces shown on Iraqi television. Over forty-two days the Italian Tornados flew 226 sorties. What followed was continuous: Deny Flight and Deliberate Force over Bosnia, Allied Force over Kosovo in 1999 with 1,440 sorties, Afghanistan, the anti-Daesh coalition, and on 19 March 2011 six Tornado ECRs off Trapani-Birgi that opened Italy’s war over Libya. Along the way the service also shrank hard: the Starfighter, the G.91, the G.222 and the AMX all went, and with them a string of air bases.

2012–2026: Cameri, the F-35 and the last of the Tornados

Today the Aeronautica Militare is smaller, far more capable and unusually exposed to one programme. Italy is a level-two partner in the F-35 and has the only Final Assembly and Check-Out facility outside the United States, at Cameri in Piedmont, which has assembled Italian, Dutch, Polish and Swiss aircraft, runs the European maintenance and upgrade hub for the type, and is building about 800 complete wing sets for the whole programme. The service flew the first F-35 built outside America in 2015, made Amendola the first F-35 base in Europe, and on 4 July 2025 converted the 154th Squadron at Ghedi — the first unit to get the Tornado in 1982 — from Tornado to F-35A, leaving the whole surviving Tornado force in one squadron. Ninety-three Eurofighters hold the quick reaction alert, twenty-four more were ordered on 23 December 2024 to replace the Tranche 1 aircraft, six Airbus A330 MRTT tankers were contracted in 2026 after the KC-46 purchase was abandoned, and the service’s next fighter is the Global Combat Air Programme with Britain and Japan. The awkward parts have not gone away: American B61 bombs are still widely reported to sit at Ghedi, and neither government will say so.

The Fascist regime loved the air force for exactly the reasons that later ruined it.Italian Air Force · verified 2026-09-19

At a glance

The Italian Air Force in numbers

Service

Native name

Aeronautica MilitareRegia Aeronautica from 28 March 1923 until 17 June 1946, when the monarchy ended. Motto Virtute siderum tenus — "with valour to the stars". Patron saint: the Madonna of Loreto, proclaimed patron of aviators by Benedict XV in March 1920.

Founded

28 March 1923Royal decree no. 645 of 28 March 1923 made the air arm a separate service. The Air Ministry followed on 30 August 1925 and the air staff on 1 January 1926, under General Pier Ruggero Piccio. The lineage runs back to the army engineers’ balloon section of 1884 and the first Italian military pilot’s licence in September 1909.

Part of

Forze armate italianeOne of four armed forces alongside the Esercito Italiano, the Marina Militare and the Arma dei Carabinieri. Naval aviation is separate and flies its own F-35Bs and AV-8B Harrier IIs from the carrier Cavour; the army has its own aviation arm, the AVES.

Headquarters

Palazzo Aeronautica, RomeThe 1931 Air Ministry building on viale Pretoriano, still the seat of the air staff. The Air Fleet Command moved there from Centocelle on 11 April 2014.

High commands

Comando della Squadra Aerea / 1ª Regione Aerea — operations and force generation, Rome and Milan
Comando Logistico — logistics, engineering and flight test, Rome
Comando delle Scuole A.M. / 3ª Regione Aerea — training, Bari

Under the Air Fleet Command sit the Aerospace Operations Command at Poggio Renatico, the Combat Forces Command at Milan, the Mobility and Support Forces Command, the 1st Special Operations Air Brigade at Furbara and the 9th ISTAR-EW Air Brigade at Pratica di Mare.

Chief of staff

Gen. S.A. Antonio ConservaIn post since 16 May 2025. A former F-104S pilot, T-38 instructor in the United States and commander of the 36th Wing and of the Air Operations Command.

Aerobatic team

Frecce Tricolori — 313° Gruppo Addestramento AcrobaticoFormed at Rivolto on 1 March 1961. Ten aircraft, nine in formation and one solo — the largest permanent display formation in the world. F-86E to 1963, Fiat G.91PAN 1963–1982, Aermacchi MB-339PAN since 1982, with the M-346 to follow.

Strength

Military personnel

37,600–44,000Italy does not publish a monthly service total and the published figures do not agree. The air force’s own English-language site states 44,000 active-duty personnel; the detailed 2024 breakdown published by RID gives 37,625 in service (5,755 officers, 22,814 warrant and non-commissioned officers and 9,056 other ranks); the 2018 annual account gave 40,574. The legal establishment set by decree 185/2023, to be reached by 1 January 2034, is 36,850 for the air force: 6,100 officers, 17,325 warrant and non-commissioned officers and 13,425 other ranks, out of a 160,000-strong armed forces.

Civilian staff

about 4,000Civilian defence employees attached to the air force. The Ministry of Defence as a whole has an establishment of 19,444 civilians.

Combat aircraft

about 175

Eurofighter F-2000A / TF-2000A — 93
F-35A / F-35B — about 47
Tornado IDS / ECR — 35

Air force aircraft only; the navy’s F-35Bs and Harriers are counted separately. The Tornado figure falls every year as the F-35 arrives and is now concentrated in a single squadron at Ghedi.

Total aircraft

roughly 450–500Combat, tanker, transport, special-mission, training and helicopter fleets together. Italy does not publish an audited total, and the figure of 962 aircraft that circulates online is a 2017 magazine estimate that counted orders and all four armed services.

Defence budget

€31.3 bn (2025, all services)The ordinary defence budget for 2025 in the 2025–2027 planning document, up 7.2 per cent on 2024. Italy does not publish a separate air force budget line; aircraft are bought through the armaments directorates and through the Ministry of Enterprise.

Operational reserve

about 13,100Reservists on the air force rolls. The figure is an order of magnitude rather than an audited count and has not been refreshed in the service’s own publications for several years.

Infrastructure

Air bases

about 20 with flying units

Plus a dozen more airfields and sites with air force units that do not fly
Twelve airfields given up to civil operators or closed
Aviano is Italian property flown from by the United States Air Force

The service classifies its own airfields as Main Operating Bases of the first group (military flying only) or the second group (open to civil traffic as well) under the ministerial decree of 25 January 2008.

Quick Reaction Alert

Four Eurofighter bases, 24/7Grosseto, Gioia del Colle, Trapani-Birgi and Istrana hold armed fighters on alert year round, controlled by the 11th Air Defence Group at Poggio Renatico and the 22nd Radar Group at Licola. Amendola’s F-35s were added to the air defence system in March 2018 and Ghedi’s in 2025. Italy also flies NATO air policing detachments to Iceland, the Baltic states and the Balkans.

Nuclear role

Ghedi, under NATO sharingNeither Rome nor Washington confirms it, but the presence of the United States Air Force 704th Munitions Support Squadron at Ghedi is taken as evidence of American B61 bombs held there for delivery by Italian aircraft; the Federation of American Scientists has estimated around twenty. The role is passing from the Tornado to the F-35A.

Longest runway

3,050 m at CerviaFollowed by Gioia del Colle, Grazzanise, Piacenza-San Damiano and Ghedi, all close to 3,000 m. Amendola, at 1,050 hectares, is the largest military airfield in Italy and the second largest in Europe after Ramstein.

Structure

How the Italian Air Force is organised

Three high commands under one chief of staff at Palazzo Aeronautica. The Italian oddity is the Comando delle Scuole, a command of equal standing devoted entirely to training — a legacy of a service that has always had to teach more people than it could equip.

Generale di squadra aereaGenerale di squadra aerea Antonio ConservaCapo di Stato Maggiore dell’Aeronautica Militare · in office since 2025

Stato Maggiore dell’Aeronautica MilitareAeronautica Militare

Staff

Stato Maggiore dell’Aeronautica Militare

SMA

Palazzo Aeronautica, Rome

The chief of staff and the air staff at Palazzo Aeronautica: doctrine, programme, budget and the link to the joint defence staff. On 15 September 2026 the 3rd, 4th and 6th departments and the Space General Office were merged into a single Department for Development, Planning and Transformation of the Air and Space Instrument.

Operations

Comando della Squadra Aerea / 1ª Regione Aerea

CSA

Rome and Milan

Owns every flying wing, the radar and missile groups and the territorial commands of northern Italy. Formed on 1 March 1999 at Centocelle and moved to Palazzo Aeronautica on 11 April 2014.

Air operations

Comando Operazioni Aerospaziali

COA

Poggio Renatico

Runs national air and space operations and the air defence of Italian airspace from Poggio Renatico, with the Aerospace Control Brigade, the integrated air and missile defence unit and the radar chain. The NATO Deployable Air Command and Control Centre shares the site.

Combat

Comando Forze da Combattimento

CFC

Milan

The fighter force: the 4th, 6th, 32nd, 36th, 37th and 51st Wings and the Frecce Tricolori.

Mobility

Comando Forze per la Mobilità e il Supporto

CFMS

Rome-Centocelle

Tankers, transports, search and rescue, government flights and force protection: the 14th, 15th, 16th and 31st Wings and the 46th Air Brigade.

Special operations

1ª Brigata Aerea Operazioni Speciali

1ª BAOS

Furbara

The 9th Wing’s personnel-recovery helicopters at Grazzanise and the 17th Raider Wing, Italy’s tier-one air force special forces, at Furbara.

ISTAR and EW

9ª Brigata Aerea ISTAR-EW

9ª BA

Pratica di Mare

Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance and electronic warfare, plus the national meteorological centre and the aeronautical geotopographic centre. Created on 1 December 2013.

Logistics

Comando Logistico dell’Aeronautica Militare

COMLOG

Rome

Engineering, maintenance depots, infrastructure, medical service and the Aeronautical and Space Test Division, which owns the Reparto Sperimentale di Volo and the Salto di Quirra range.

Training

Comando delle Scuole A.M. / 3ª Regione Aerea

CSAM

Bari

The Air Academy at Pozzuoli, the NCO and specialist schools, and the flying training wings: the 60th, 61st, 66th, 70th and 72nd.

Warfare centre

Air and Space Warfare Centre

ASWC

Pratica di Mare

Stood up at Pratica di Mare on 22 September 2025 to bring capability development, tactics and operational analysis under one roof. Its second commander, Brigadier General Filippo Monti, took over on 7 September 2026.

In service

What the Italian Air Force flies today

Every type on charge, linked to its Book of Beasts page where one exists. Counts are aircraft on the books, not aircraft available on a given day.

Type	Role	In service	Since	Units	Notes
Eurofighter F-2000A / TF-2000A TyphoonIn service	Air defence and multirole fighter; national quick reaction alert	93	2004	—	Ninety-six were ordered, 82 single-seat and 14 two-seat; the first arrived on 16 March 2004 and the last on 23 October 2020. Three have been lost, leaving 93 on charge. More FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory splits the fleet 79 single-seat and 14 two-seat.
Lockheed Martin F-35A / F-35B Lightning IIIn service	Multirole stealth fighter; the F-35B is short take-off and vertical landing	47	2016	—	About 47 with the air force in 2026 — FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory gives 43 F-35A and 4 F-35B; other running tallies give 42 and 5. The navy’s ten F-35Bs are counted separately. More Italy has ordered 95 for the air force — 60 F-35A and 15 F-35B under the original plan, plus 15 A and 5 B added in the 2024–26 planning document, giving 75 A and 20 B — out of a national total of 115.
Panavia A-200C / EA-200B Tornado IDS and ECRIn service	Interdiction and strike; the ECR is a dedicated defence-suppression aircraft	35	1982	—	Thirty-five on charge in 2026: 19 Tornado IDS, 12 Tornado ECR and 4 dual-control trainers. More Italy received 87 IDS and 12 dual-control IDS from 1982; 16 were converted to ECR standard from 1998 and 58 survivors went through the it-MLU RET.8 upgrade.
Gulfstream E-550A CAEWIn service	Airborne early warning and control	2	2016	—	Two ordered in July 2012; the first delivered in December 2016 and the second in January 2018.
Beechcraft King Air 350ERIn service	Signals and imagery intelligence	1	2015	—	Leased rather than owned; two airframes have been taken on lease at different times. The lease replaced an earlier leased Lockheed Martin AML Dragon Star.
Alenia EC-27J JEDIIn service	Electronic warfare and jamming	3	2014	—	Three of the twelve C-27Js converted, and convertible back to the transport role.
Leonardo P-72A (ATR 72MP)In service	Maritime patrol and surveillance	4	2016	—	Four ordered; three delivered by December 2018 and the fourth in February 2021.
General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper (Predator B)In service	Armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance	4	2011	—	Six bought — four requested in August 2008 and two more in November 2009 — with deliveries running from 2010. More One was lost over Libya on 20 November 2019 and one was destroyed inside its shelter at Ali Al Salem in Kuwait on 15 March 2026, leaving four. Two more Block 5 aircraft were ordered in September 2026.
Boeing KC-767AIn service	Air-to-air refuelling and strategic transport	4	2011	—	Four ordered in 2002; delivered from January 2011, the last two by the end of 2011, after a long and contentious development. Cockpit upgrade completed by May 2018.
Lockheed Martin C-130J / C-130J-30 / KC-130J Super HerculesIn service	Tactical airlift, air-drop, aeromedical evacuation and helicopter refuelling	16	2000	—	Twenty-two delivered from 2000 (12 C-130J and 10 C-130J-30) under a 1997 order; one was destroyed in an accident on 23 November 2009. More FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory gives 16 on charge, 6 short-fuselage and 10 stretched; eight airframes have been put into reserve and six of those offered for sale, so the number actually available is lower — other tallies give 13.
Alenia C-27J SpartanIn service	Tactical transport	7	2007	—	Twelve ordered, the last handed over in May 2009; three were converted to the EC-27J JEDI electronic warfare configuration and are counted separately.
Airbus VC-319A (A319CJ)In service	Government and VIP transport	3	2002	—	Four bought; the first was sold to Turkey. More One of the remaining three was put up for auction by the ministry in March 2015 and found no buyer; all three were later overhauled at Naples-Capodichino and returned to service.
Dassault VC-900A / VC-900B Falcon 900EX and 900EASyIn service	Government transport and aeromedical evacuation	3	1995	—	Three Falcon 900EX delivered in 1995–97 as VC-900A and two Falcon 900EX EASy in 2005 as VC-900B; one VC-900A and two VC-900B remain with the air force.
Gulfstream VC-650A (G650ER)In service	Government transport and air ambulance	4	2025	—	Four bought in December 2024 in transport and air-ambulance configuration; the first two were delivered on 12 April 2025 and the third and fourth on 23 July 2025. More Some published tallies still show two in service plus three on order.
Gulfstream C-550A (G550)In service	Transport and multi-engine training	2	2022	—	Two of the eight "green" G550 airframes ordered in December 2020; the first was handed over on 7 March 2022. The rest are being converted into special-mission aircraft.
Piaggio P.180 Avanti / Avanti EVO+In service	Liaison and VIP transport, radio and radar calibration	13	1990	—	About thirteen in the transport and calibration roles: six VC-180A/B, three P.180 EVO+ delivered in November 2024 and four EVO+ in the radio and radar calibration fit. More Nine EVO+ were ordered in April 2019, five as transports and four as calibration aircraft.
Piaggio T-180A AvantiIn service	Multi-engine flying training	10	2005	—	Ten in the training role; four are used by the multi-crew training centre at Pratica di Mare for the military pilot’s licence on the conventional multi-engine line.
Leonardo T-346A Master (M-346)In service	Lead-in fighter training, phase IV	22	2015	—	Eighteen T-346A delivered to the air force, with further airframes on the International Flight Training School line; some 2026 tallies reach 27 as more school airframes come on line. More All are now at Decimomannu, having moved from Lecce-Galatina.
Aermacchi MB-339CD / FT-339CIn service	Advanced flying training, phase III	30	1996	—	Thirty MB-339CD ordered in 1995 with a glass cockpit and a digital weapon system; independent 2026 tallies put the number actually serviceable nearer 25.
Aermacchi MB-339A-PANIn service	Aerobatic display	10	1982	—	About ten remain with the Frecce Tricolori, nine in the formation and one solo. One was lost on 16 September 2023.
Leonardo T-345A (M-345 HET)In service	Basic and advanced flying training	9	2020	—	Nine delivered: five pre-series aircraft ordered on 13 January 2017 and further aircraft from a 2019 order. A total of 45 is planned.
SIAI-Marchetti T-260B (SF-260EA)In service	Screening and basic flying training	28	2004	—	Thirty SF-260EA delivered from 2004; one was lost in an accident on 1 October 2025.
SIAI-Marchetti U-208M (S.208M)In service	Liaison, glider towing and aptitude screening	18	1967	—	Forty-five bought in all from 1967; about twenty were refurbished in the early 2000s and two were lost in a mid-air collision on 7 March 2023.
Leonardo HH-101A Caesar (AW101)In service	Combat search and rescue, personnel recovery and special operations	12	2016	—	Twelve built, with three unexercised options. The first became operational at Cervia on 25 February 2016 and the first batch of six was delivered by 2017.
Leonardo HH-139A / HH-139B (AW139)In service	Search and rescue, slow-mover interception and fire fighting	30	2012	—	Thirteen HH-139A delivered between 2012 and 2014, and seventeen new-build HH-139B ordered on 21 November 2019 and delivered between 30 November 2020 and 31 January 2022. More The original thirteen are being brought up to HH-139B standard under a July 2021 contract.
Leonardo VH-139A / UH-139In service	Government transport and helicopter training	4	2012	—	Four delivered from 31 May 2012 to the 31st Wing; two were taken on by the Civil Protection Department and used experimentally for the advanced phase of military helicopter pilot training, which is why counts of two also appear.
Breda Nardi TH-500B / TH-500E (MD 500)In service	Basic helicopter training and liaison	31	1990	—	Fifty NH-500E delivered from 1990 and built under licence by Breda Nardi in Italy; about 31 remain, 27 in the training fit and 4 in the liaison fit. Other tallies give 37.
Gliders: Grob G 103 Twin Astir, Nimbus-4D/DM, LAK-17AIn service	Glider training and air cadet flying	12	1980	—	Eight Grob G 103 Twin Astir, two Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4D and 4DM and two Sportine Aviacija LAK-17A.

Typhoon93

F-3547

Tornado35

TH-50031

MB-339CD30

HH-13930

SF-260EA28

T-346A22

On order

Type	Ordered	First delivery	Notes
Lockheed Martin F-35A / F-35B Lightning IIOn order	58	2026	Italy has committed to 115 F-35s in all — 95 for the air force and 20 F-35Bs for the navy — after the 2024–26 planning document added 15 F-35A and 5 F-35B to the original 90. More With roughly 57 delivered to the two services by 2026, something close to 58 remain to be built, nearly all of them at Cameri. Deliveries of the first tranche were to be complete in 2027.
Eurofighter Typhoon Tranche 5On order	24	2027	Signed in Rome on 23 December 2024 between Eurofighter and NETMA, three days after a comparable Spanish order. More Up to 24 aircraft, to replace 26 Tranche 1 machines, with the newest avionics, Brimstone III and Meteor, new sensors and improved connectivity; Leonardo assembles them at Turin-Caselle. The programme is quoted with a service life beyond 2060.
Airbus A330 MRTTOn order	6		Six tankers to replace the four KC-767As, contracted with Airbus for about €1.4 billion. More The paperwork is confusing: the EU tenders portal records a contract signed on 16 April 2026 running ten years, while an April 2026 ARMAEREO document dates it 23 February 2026 and gives 96 months. Airbus was selected in December 2025 and appears to have been the only bidder. It is Italy’s third attempt at the replacement, after a 2022 plan to buy two KC-46s and upgrade the KC-767s, and a 2023 plan for six KC-46s that was halted in June 2024.
L3Harris EA-37B Compass Call IIOn order	2		Two ordered on 21 July 2025 with one option, on the Gulfstream G550 airframe. More They will give Italy a stand-off electronic attack capability of a kind only the United States has flown until now, and will be based at Pratica di Mare with the 71st Squadron.
Gulfstream G550 AISREW / JAMMSOn order	2		Two of the eight "green" G550s ordered in December 2020 are being converted by IAI into signals-intelligence aircraft under a contract confirmed in August 2022. More Counts of one already delivered and two outstanding both circulate.
Leonardo T-345A (M-345 HET)On order	36	2026	Forty-five are planned in total against nine delivered. The type replaces the MB-339A in the basic jet phase at Lecce-Galatina.
Leonardo M-346 PANOn order	15		The replacement for the Frecce Tricolori’s MB-339PAN, announced in 2024 after the M-345 was considered and rejected for the role. The display team has flown the MB-339 since 1982.
General Atomics MQ-9A Block 5 ReaperOn order	2		Two more ordered on 9 September 2026, restoring the squadron’s strength after the losses in Libya in 2019 and in Kuwait in March 2026.
Global Combat Air Programme fighterOn order	—	2035	Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan signed the GCAP treaty in December 2023 and set up the joint GIGO organisation at Reading in 2024, with Leonardo, BAE Systems and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries as the industrial partners. More The aim is an in-service date of 2035 for a sixth-generation fighter to replace the Typhoon. No Italian order quantity has been announced.

Formerly operated

Every type the Italian Air Force has retired

45 types, from the Fiat C.R.32 to the Aermacchi MB-339A (T-339A). Peak figures are airframes taken on charge over the whole service life, not fleet strength on any one date.

Type	Role	Peak	Served	Replaced by	Notes
Aermacchi MB-339A (T-339A)	Basic and advanced jet training	97	1982–2025	Leonardo T-345A	Ninety-seven MB-339A and MB-339A-PAN received from 1982, 107 counting all variants of the early model.
AMX International A-11B / TA-11B Ghibli	Light attack and tactical reconnaissance	136	1989–2024	Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35A	One hundred and ten single-seat and 26 two-seat aircraft, in service from 1989.
Agusta-Bell HH-212	Liaison, search and rescue and special operations support	35	1979–2024	Leonardo HH-101A Caesar	Thirty-five in Italian Air Force service.
General Atomics MQ-1 Predator A / A+ and MQ-1C ER	Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance	8	2005–2022	General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper	Six MQ-1A/A+ Predator from 2005 and two MQ-1C ER from 2015.
Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic (P-1150A)	Maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare	18	1972–2017	Leonardo P-72A	Eighteen in Italian service, flown by the air force with navy mission crews from 27 June 1972 to 22 November 2017.
Agusta-Sikorsky HH-3F Pelican	Search and rescue and combat search and rescue	35	1977–2014	Leonardo HH-101A Caesar	Thirty-five built under licence by Agusta.
General Dynamics F-16A ADF / F-16B Fighting Falcon	Air defence interception	34	2003–2012	Eurofighter Typhoon	Thirty F-16A ADF and four F-16B leased from the United States under the Peace Caesar programme.
Piaggio P.166M and P.166DL3 APH	Liaison, photographic survey and calibration	57	1961–2010	Piaggio P.180 Avanti	Fifty-one P.166M from 1961 and six P.166DL3 APH from 1985.
SIAI-Marchetti SF-260AM	Basic flying training	45	1977–2009	SIAI-Marchetti SF-260EA	Forty-five delivered from 1977.
Boeing 707T/T	Air-to-air refuelling and strategic transport	4	1992–2008	Boeing KC-767A	Four converted second-hand airliners in the tanker-transport role.
Aeritalia G.222	Tactical transport, electronic warfare and fire fighting	44	1978–2007	Alenia C-27J Spartan	Forty-four in Italian service from 1978.
Lockheed F-104G / RF-104G / TF-104G Starfighter	Fighter-bomber, tactical reconnaissance and conversion training	155	1963–2005	Aeritalia F-104S	Italian Wikipedia’s retired-types list gives 105 F-104G, 20 RF-104G and 30 TF-104G; the standard F-104S monograph says 149 F-104Gs were acquired. The totals are genuinely disputed. More Twenty-three F-104Gs were lost in accidents in the first five years alone.
Aeritalia F-104S / F-104S ASA / ASA-M Starfighter	All-weather interceptor and fighter-bomber	205	1969–2004	Eurofighter Typhoon (via leased Tornado ADV and F-16 ADF)	Two hundred and five built under licence in Italy and delivered between 1969 and 1979, the hundredth in January 1973 and the two hundredth in May 1976. More Upgraded to ASA standard from 1986 and to ASA-M from 1997.
Panavia Tornado ADV (F.3)	Long-range interceptor	24	1995–2004	Eurofighter Typhoon	Twenty-four leased from the Royal Air Force.
Lockheed C-130H Hercules	Tactical and strategic airlift	14	1972–2003	C-130J Super Hercules	Fourteen in Italian service from 1972.
Piaggio-Douglas PD-808	Liaison, calibration, electronic warfare and VIP transport	34	1966–2003	Piaggio P.180 Avanti	Thirty-four built, all for the Italian Air Force.
Fiat G.91 / G.91R / G.91T	Light strike, reconnaissance and advanced training	231	1959–1995	AMX International Ghibli	Thirty-one G.91, 97 G.91R and 103 G.91T/1 in Italian service; withdrawal ran from 1981 for the early aircraft to 1992 for the R and 1995 for the T.
Aeritalia G.91Y	Light strike and reconnaissance	67	1970–1994	AMX International Ghibli	Sixty-seven built for the Italian Air Force and flown only by Italy.
Aermacchi MB-326	Basic jet training	140	1961–1990	Aermacchi MB-339A	One hundred and forty in Italian service from 1961.
Agusta-Bell AB-204B and AB-47	Rescue, liaison and helicopter training	171	1954–1990	Agusta-Bell HH-212 and NH-500	Forty-three AB-204B from 1961, 35 AB-47G2 and 93 AB-47J from 1954.
Lockheed T-33A / RT-33A Shooting Star	Jet training and reconnaissance training	90	1952–1982	Aermacchi MB-339A	Seventy-five T-33A from 1952 and 15 RT-33A from 1955.
Fairchild C-119G / C-119J Flying Boxcar	Transport and paratroop drop	61	1953–1979	Aeritalia G.222	Thirty-six C-119G from 1953 and 25 C-119J from 1964.
Grumman HU-16A Albatross and S-2F Tracker	Air-sea rescue and anti-submarine patrol	58	1958–1979	Breguet Atlantic and HH-3F	Thirteen HU-16A from 1958 and 45 S-2F Tracker from 1959.
North American T-6 Texan	Advanced training	238	1949–1979	Aermacchi MB-326	Two hundred and thirty-eight in Italian service.
Canadair CL-13 Sabre Mk 4 (F-86E)	Day fighter	179	1956–1976	Fiat G.91 and F-104	One hundred and seventy-nine Canadian-built Sabres, handed on from the Royal Air Force.
Republic F-84F Thunderstreak and RF-84F Thunderflash	Fighter-bomber and tactical reconnaissance	272	1956–1974	Fiat G.91 and F-104	One hundred and ninety-four F-84F and 78 RF-84F.
North American F-86K Sabre	All-weather interceptor	147	1955–1973	Lockheed F-104S Starfighter	One hundred and forty-seven in Italian service; many were assembled by Fiat at Turin.
de Havilland DH.100 Vampire FB.52 / NF.54	Fighter-bomber and night fighter	268	1949–1960	Republic F-84 and F-86	Two hundred and forty-six FB.52/52A, 14 NF.54, five FB.5 and three F.3; most of the FB.52s were built under licence in Italy by Fiat and Macchi.
Savoia-Marchetti S.M.82 Marsupiale and S.M.95	Transport	23	1946–1960	Douglas C-47 and Fairchild C-119	Twenty S.M.82PW re-engined with Pratt & Whitney radials and three S.M.95.
Fiat G.46 and G.59	Basic and advanced training	316	1949–1959	North American T-6 and jet trainers	One hundred and forty-three G.46 from 1949 and 173 G.59-4B from 1950.
North American P-51D Mustang	Fighter and fighter-bomber	173	1947–1958	de Havilland Vampire and Republic F-84	One hundred and seventy-three in Italian service from 1947.
Republic F-84G Thunderjet	Fighter-bomber	254	1952–1957	Republic F-84F Thunderstreak	Two hundred and fifty-four supplied under the Mutual Defense Assistance Program.
Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 Sparviero	Medium bomber and torpedo bomber	1,218	1936–1955	—	One thousand two hundred and eighteen built, almost all for the Regia Aeronautica. Twenty-four survived into Aeronautica Militare service until 1955; Lebanon flew the type until 1959.
Republic F-47D Thunderbolt	Fighter-bomber	77	1950–1954	Republic F-84G Thunderjet	Seventy-seven in Italian service.
Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk IXe	Fighter	137	1946–1952	North American P-51D Mustang	One hundred and thirty-seven LF Mk IXe, plus a handful of Mk V, handed over by the Royal Air Force.
Macchi C.205V Veltro	Fighter	252	1943–1951	North American P-51D Mustang	Two hundred and fifty-two built including prototypes, from February 1943. More Flown by the Regia Aeronautica, the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana and then the post-war Aeronautica Militare until 1951.
Fiat G.55 Centauro	Fighter	170	1943–1950	Fiat G.59	One hundred and seventy built. Twenty were flown by the post-war Aeronautica Militare until 1950, and the Merlin-engined G.59 development served as a trainer until 1957.
Macchi C.202 Folgore	Fighter	1,150	1941–1948	Macchi C.205V Veltro	About 1,150 built from 1941.
Macchi C.200 Saetta	Fighter	1,153	1939–1946	Macchi C.202 Folgore	One thousand one hundred and fifty-three built.
Fiat C.R.42 Falco	Fighter and ground attack	1,782	1939–1945	Macchi C.200 Saetta	One thousand seven hundred and eighty-two built — more than any other Italian aircraft of the war — and still in production in 1943.
Fiat G.50 Freccia	Fighter	781	1939–1945	Macchi C.202 Folgore	Seven hundred and eighty-one built.
Reggiane Re.2000 Falco	Fighter	158	1940–1945	—	One hundred and fifty-eight built; Hungary and Sweden were the main customers and the Regia Aeronautica and Regia Marina took only a small number.
CANT Z.1007 Alcione	Medium bomber	561	1939–1945	—	Five hundred and sixty-one built including all variants.
Fiat C.R.32	Fighter	1,212	1935–1943	Fiat C.R.42 Falco	One thousand two hundred and twelve built from 1933.
Fiat B.R.20 Cicogna	Medium bomber	600	1936–1943	CANT Z.1007 and S.M.79	About 600 built including all versions.

Air bases

Where the Aeronautica Militare flies from

Black pins are active bases, hollow pins the airfields the air force has given up. Twelve airfields have gone since 1971, most of them handed to civil operators — Bergamo, Catania, Rimini, Comiso, Cagliari — which is why several of Italy’s busiest airports have a military enclave on one side.

Active air base Closed or reserveClick a pin to open the base page

Base	ICAO	Status	Runway	Units and aircraft
Alghero-FertiliaSardegna	LIEA	Active	02/203,000 m	Distaccamento Aeroportuale Alghero 8° Stormo: Breda Ba.88 Lince
AmendolaPuglia	LIBA	Active	11/292,660 m	13° Gruppo Caccia: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II 101° Gruppo Caccia: Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II 28° Gruppo APR: General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper 632ª Squadriglia Collegamenti: Aermacchi T-339A, Aermacchi MB-339CD II Centro di Eccellenza APR 60ª Brigata Aerea: Fiat G.91T
AvianoFriuli-Venezia Giulia	LIPA	Active	05/232,606 m	Comando Aeroporto di Aviano 31st Fighter Wing, United States Air Force: General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon
Bari-PalesePuglia	LIBD	Active	07/253,000 m	Comando delle Scuole A.M. / 3ª Regione Aerea Reparto Mobile Comando e Controllo 2° Reparto Tecnico Comunicazioni
Bracciano-Vigna di ValleLazio		Active	—	Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare
BrindisiPuglia	LIBR	Active	13/313,048 m05/231,796 m	Distaccamento Aeroportuale Brindisi 13° Servizio Tecnico Distaccato 32° Stormo: Aeritalia G.91Y
CameriPiemonte	LIMN	Active	17/352,992 m	1° Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli Centro Polifunzionale Velivoli Aerotattici Comando Aeroporto di Cameri Nucleo Iniziale di Formazione JSF 53° Stormo: Lockheed F-104S Starfighter
CerviaEmilia-Romagna	LIPC	Active	11/293,050 m	23° Gruppo Volo: Leonardo HH-101A Caesar 83° Gruppo C/SAR: Leonardo HH-139A, Leonardo HH-139B 81° Centro Addestramento Equipaggi: Leonardo HH-139A, Leonardo HH-101A 23° Gruppo Caccia: Lockheed F-104S ASA-M Starfighter, General Dynamics F-16A ADF 101° Gruppo CBR: Aeritalia G.91Y
CiampinoLazio	LIRA	Active	15/332,202 m	93° Gruppo: Airbus VC-319A, Dassault VC-900A Falcon 900 306° Gruppo: Dassault VC-900B Falcon 900EASy, Gulfstream VC-650A, Leonardo VH-139A 931° Gruppo Efficienza Aeromobili
DecimomannuSardegna	LIED	Active	17L/35R2,990 m17R/35L2,610 m	Reparto Sperimentale e di Standardizzazione al Tiro Aereo 212° Gruppo Volo / International Flight Training School: Leonardo T-346A Master 80° Centro C/SAR: Leonardo HH-139A
FrosinoneLazio	LIRH	Active	16/341,431 mgrass	66° Stormo 72° Stormo: Breda Nardi TH-500B, Leonardo UH-139
FurbaraLazio	LIAR	Active	Unpaved strip1,042 mgrass	17° Stormo Incursori 1ª Brigata Aerea Operazioni Speciali
GhediLombardia	LIPL	Active	13/312,991 m	102° Gruppo OCU: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II 154° Gruppo: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II 155° Gruppo ETS: Panavia EA-200B Tornado ECR, Panavia A-200C Tornado IDS 606ª Squadriglia Collegamenti
Gioia del CollePuglia	LIBV	Active	14R/32L3,001 m14L/32R2,996 m	10° Gruppo Caccia: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon 12° Gruppo Caccia: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon 84° Centro C/SAR: Leonardo HH-139A 436° Gruppo Servizi Tecnico-Operativi
GrazzaniseCampania	LIRM	Active	06/242,991 m	21° Gruppo Volo: Leonardo HH-101A Caesar Gruppo Fucilieri dell’Aria 909° Gruppo Efficienza Aeromobili 10° Gruppo
GrossetoToscana	LIRS	Active	03L/21R2,994 m03R/21L2,354 m	9° Gruppo Caccia: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon 20° Gruppo OCU: Eurofighter TF-2000A Typhoon 904° Gruppo Efficienza Aeromobili Centro Cinofili dell’Aeronautica Militare
GuidoniaLazio	LIRG	Active	18/361,462 m04/221,200 mgrass	202° Gruppo Volo: Grob G 103 Twin Astir, Schempp-Hirth Nimbus-4D, SIAI-Marchetti U-208M, Breda Nardi TH-500B Centro di Selezione dell’Aeronautica Militare Scuola di Aerocooperazione
IstranaVeneto	LIPS	Active	08/262,992 m	132° Gruppo: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon 3° Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli 103° Gruppo: AMX International A-11B Ghibli 101° Gruppo: AMX International A-11B Ghibli
LampedusaSicilia	LICD	Active	08/261,800 m	Distaccamento Aeronautico Lampedusa 134ª Squadriglia Radar
LatinaLazio	LIRL	Active	12/301,700 m	207° Gruppo Volo: SIAI-Marchetti T-260B (SF-260EA) Gruppo Istruzione Professionale
Lecce-GalatinaPuglia	LIBN	Active	14/321,902 m	213° Gruppo Volo: Aermacchi FT-339C 214° Gruppo Volo: Leonardo T-345A, Aermacchi T-339A 10° Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli 212° Gruppo Volo: Leonardo T-346A Master
Martina FrancaPuglia		Active	—	16° Stormo Protezione delle Forze Battaglione Fucilieri dell’Aria
Milano-LinateLombardia	LIML	Active	17/352,442 m	Squadriglia Collegamenti Linate: Breda Nardi NH-500E, SIAI-Marchetti S.208M 1° Reparto Tecnico Comunicazioni
Naples-CapodichinoCampania	LIRN	Active	06/242,628 m	Comando Aeroporto di Capodichino 5° Gruppo Manutenzione Velivoli
PantelleriaSicilia	LICG	Active	07/251,675 m02/201,220 m	Distaccamento Aeroportuale Pantelleria
Piacenza-San DamianoEmilia-Romagna	LIMS	Active	12/302,996 m	Distaccamento Aeroportuale Piacenza 50° Stormo: Panavia A-200 Tornado IDS
PisaToscana	LIRP	Active	03R/21L2,993 m03L/21R2,792 m	2° Gruppo: Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules 50° Gruppo: Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules 98° Gruppo: Alenia C-27J Spartan, Alenia EC-27J JEDI, Alenia MC-27J Praetorian 946° Gruppo Efficienza Aeromobili Distaccamento Aeroportuale Sarzana-Luni
Poggio RenaticoEmilia-Romagna	LIVK	Active	—	Comando Operazioni Aerospaziali Brigata Controllo Aerospazio 11° Gruppo DAMI Reparto Difesa Aerea Missilistica Integrata NATO Deployable Air Command and Control Centre
Pratica di MareLazio	LIRE	Active	13R/31L2,481 m13/312,540 masphalt (closed)	8° Gruppo: Boeing KC-767A 71° Gruppo: Gulfstream E-550A CAEW, Piaggio P.180 EVO+ 311° Gruppo Volo 85° Centro C/SAR: Leonardo HH-139A Scuola Addestramento Trasporti Aerei: Piaggio T-180A Avanti Air and Space Warfare Centre Centro Nazionale di Meteorologia e Climatologia Aeronautica 6° Reparto Manutenzione Elicotteri
RivoltoFriuli-Venezia Giulia	LIPI	Active	06/242,550 m	313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico: Aermacchi MB-339A-PAN Gruppo Missili: Spada 2000 with Aspide missiles 80° Gruppo OCU 14° Gruppo: AMX International AMX
Rome-CentocelleLazio	LIRC	Active	—	Comando Aeronautica Militare Roma Comando Forze per la Mobilità e il Supporto Comando della Squadra Aerea
Sarzana-LuniLiguria	LIQW	Active	18/36905 m	Distaccamento Aeroportuale Sarzana-Luni 24° Gruppo Caccia
SigonellaSicilia	LICZ	Active	10R/28L2,462 m10L/28R2,442 m	88° Gruppo Antisom: Leonardo P-72A 86° Centro Addestramento Equipaggi 11° Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli
Trapani-BirgiSicilia	LICT	Active	13/312,698 m	18° Gruppo Caccia: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon 82° Centro C/SAR: Leonardo HH-139A 437° Gruppo Servizi Tecnico-Operativi Distaccamento Aeroportuale Pantelleria Distaccamento Aeronautico Lampedusa
Treviso-Sant’AngeloVeneto	LIPH	Active	07/252,420 m	Reparto Aeronautica Militare Treviso
Verona-VillafrancaVeneto	LIPX	Active	04/223,068 m	3° Stormo Infermeria Principale
ViterboLazio	LIRV	Active	04C/22C1,300 m04L/22R1,005 m04R/22L590 m	208° Gruppo Volo: Breda Nardi TH-500B, Leonardo UH-139 Gruppo Istruzione Professionale Scuola Marescialli dell’Aeronautica Militare
Udine-CampoformidoFriuli-Venezia Giulia	LIPD	Closed	04/22730 mgrass	4° Stormo: Fiat C.R.32, Fiat C.R.42 Falco, Macchi C.202 Folgore
PadovaVeneto	LIPU	Closed 2019	04/221,122 m04/22 grass617 mgrass	2° Reparto Manutenzione Missili
Cagliari-ElmasSardegna	LIEE	Closed 2015	14/322,803 m	32° Stormo: Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 Sparviero
Rimini-MiramareEmilia-Romagna	LIPR	Closed 2009	12/302,996 m	5° Stormo "Giuseppe Cenni": Lockheed F-104S Starfighter
ComisoSicilia	LICB	Closed 2008	05/232,459 m	487th Tactical Missile Wing, United States Air Force: BGM-109G Gryphon ground-launched cruise missile
Palermo-BoccadifalcoSicilia	LICP	Closed 2008	17/351,224 m	—
VicenzaVeneto	LIPT	Closed 2008	18/361,500 m	16° Stormo Bombardamento Terrestre
Brescia-MontichiariLombardia	LIPO	Closed 2007	14/322,990 m	—
Taranto-GrottagliePuglia	LIBG	Closed 1982	17/353,200 m	11ª Squadriglia Scuola Centrale di Pilotaggio
Bergamo-Orio al SerioLombardia	LIME	Closed 1978	10/282,874 m	—
Trapani-ChinisiaSicilia		Closed 1978	02/201,650 m	106° Gruppo: CANT Z.1007 bis Alcione 51° Stormo: Macchi C.202 Folgore
Catania-FontanarossaSicilia	LICC	Closed 1971	08/262,435 m	—

No air base matches that search.

Order of battle

Who is stationed where in the Italian Air Force

Flying units by base, with the wing each belongs to. Italian squadrons are numbered gruppi and the numbers are old: the 9th Squadron carries Francesco Baracca’s prancing horse, the 154th flew the first Tornado in 1982, and the 313th has been the Frecce Tricolori since 1961.

Amendola Air Base · LIBA32° Stormo "Armando Boetto"

13° Gruppo CacciaFighter squadron · regular: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II
101° Gruppo CacciaFighter squadron · regular: Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II
28° Gruppo APRRemotely piloted aircraft squadron · regular: General Atomics MQ-9A Reaper
632ª Squadriglia CollegamentiLiaison flight · regular: Aermacchi T-339A, Aermacchi MB-339CD II
Centro di Eccellenza APR—: —
60ª Brigata Aerea1986–1993: Fiat G.91T

Ghedi Air Base · LIPL6° Stormo "Alfredo Fusco"

102° Gruppo OCUPaperi · Operational conversion squadron · regular: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II
154° GruppoDiavoli Rossi · Fighter-bomber squadron · regular: Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II
155° Gruppo ETSPantere Nere · Electronic warfare and defence suppression squadron · regular: Panavia EA-200B Tornado ECR
606ª Squadriglia CollegamentiLiaison flight · regular: —

Grosseto Air Base · LIRS4° Stormo "Amedeo d’Aosta"

9° Gruppo CacciaFrancesco Baracca · Fighter squadron · regular: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon
20° Gruppo OCUOperational conversion squadron · regular: Eurofighter TF-2000A Typhoon
904° Gruppo Efficienza AeromobiliAircraft maintenance squadron · regular: —
Centro Cinofili dell’Aeronautica MilitareAir force canine centre · regular: —

Gioia del Colle · LIBV36° Stormo "Riccardo Hellmuth Seidl"

10° Gruppo CacciaFighter squadron · regular: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon
12° Gruppo CacciaFighter squadron · regular: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon
84° Centro C/SARCombat search and rescue detachment · regular: Leonardo HH-139A
436° Gruppo Servizi Tecnico-OperativiTechnical services squadron · regular: —

Trapani-Birgi · LICT37° Stormo "Cesare Toschi"

18° Gruppo CacciaFighter squadron · regular: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon
82° Centro C/SARCombat search and rescue detachment · regular: Leonardo HH-139A
437° Gruppo Servizi Tecnico-OperativiTechnical services squadron · regular: —
Distaccamento Aeroportuale PantelleriaAirfield detachment · regular: —
Distaccamento Aeronautico LampedusaAirfield detachment · regular: —

Istrana · LIPS51° Stormo "Ferruccio Serafini"

132° GruppoFighter squadron · regular: Eurofighter F-2000A Typhoon
3° Reparto Manutenzione VelivoliAircraft maintenance regiment · regular: —
103° Gruppo—: AMX International A-11B Ghibli
101° Gruppo—: AMX International A-11B Ghibli

Rivolto Air Base · LIPI2° Stormo "Mario D’Agostini" and 313° Gruppo Addestramento Acrobatico

313° Gruppo Addestramento AcrobaticoFrecce Tricolori · National aerobatic team · regular: Aermacchi MB-339A-PAN
Gruppo MissiliSurface-to-air missile squadron · regular: Spada 2000 with Aspide missiles
80° Gruppo OCUMissile systems conversion squadron · regular: —
14° Gruppo—: AMX International AMX

Cervia · LIPC15° Stormo "Stefano Cagna"

23° Gruppo VoloCombat search and rescue squadron · regular: Leonardo HH-101A Caesar
83° Gruppo C/SARCombat search and rescue squadron · regular: Leonardo HH-139A
81° Centro Addestramento EquipaggiCrew training centre · regular: Leonardo HH-139A
23° Gruppo Caccia—: Lockheed F-104S ASA-M Starfighter, General Dynamics F-16A ADF
101° Gruppo CBR1971–: Aeritalia G.91Y

Grazzanise · LIRM9° Stormo "Francesco Baracca"

21° Gruppo VoloPersonnel recovery and special operations squadron · regular: Leonardo HH-101A Caesar
Gruppo Fucilieri dell’AriaAir fusiliers squadron · regular: —
909° Gruppo Efficienza AeromobiliAircraft maintenance squadron · regular: —
10° Gruppo1961–1967: —

Pratica di Mare · LIRE14° Stormo, Divisione Aerea di Sperimentazione, 9ª Brigata Aerea ISTAR-EW

8° GruppoAir refuelling squadron · regular: Boeing KC-767A
71° GruppoEarly warning and electronic warfare squadron · regular: Gulfstream E-550A CAEW
311° Gruppo VoloFlight test squadron · regular: —
85° Centro C/SARCombat search and rescue detachment · regular: Leonardo HH-139A
Scuola Addestramento Trasporti AereiMulti-crew flying school · regular: Piaggio T-180A Avanti
Air and Space Warfare CentreWarfare and capability development centre · regular: —
Centro Nazionale di Meteorologia e Climatologia AeronauticaNational meteorological centre · regular: —
6° Reparto Manutenzione ElicotteriHelicopter maintenance regiment · regular: —

Pisa · LIRP46ª Brigata Aerea "Silvio Angelucci"

2° GruppoTransport squadron · regular: Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules
50° GruppoTransport squadron · regular: Lockheed Martin C-130J-30 Super Hercules
98° GruppoTactical transport squadron · regular: Alenia C-27J Spartan
946° Gruppo Efficienza AeromobiliAircraft maintenance squadron · regular: —
Distaccamento Aeroportuale Sarzana-LuniAirfield detachment · regular: —

Ciampino · LIRA31° Stormo "Carmelo Raiti"

93° GruppoGovernment transport squadron · regular: Airbus VC-319A
306° GruppoGovernment transport squadron · regular: Dassault VC-900B Falcon 900EASy
931° Gruppo Efficienza AeromobiliAircraft maintenance squadron · regular: —

Lecce-Galatina · LIBN61° Stormo

213° Gruppo VoloAdvanced training squadron · regular: Aermacchi FT-339C
214° Gruppo VoloBasic jet training squadron · regular: Leonardo T-345A
10° Reparto Manutenzione VelivoliAircraft maintenance regiment · regular: —
212° Gruppo Volo—: Leonardo T-346A Master

Decimomannu Air Base · LIEDReparto Sperimentale e di Standardizzazione al Tiro Aereo

Reparto Sperimentale e di Standardizzazione al Tiro AereoWeapons and air gunnery standardisation unit · regular: —
212° Gruppo Volo / International Flight Training SchoolLead-in fighter training squadron · regular: Leonardo T-346A Master
80° Centro C/SARCombat search and rescue detachment · regular: Leonardo HH-139A

Sigonella · LICZ41° Stormo Antisom and Comando Aeroporto di Sigonella

88° Gruppo AntisomMaritime patrol squadron · regular: Leonardo P-72A
86° Centro Addestramento EquipaggiCrew training centre · regular: —
11° Reparto Manutenzione VelivoliAircraft maintenance regiment · regular: —

Latina · LIRL70° Stormo "Giulio Cesare Graziani"

207° Gruppo VoloBasic flying training squadron · regular: SIAI-Marchetti T-260B (SF-260EA)
Gruppo Istruzione ProfessionaleGround school · regular: —

Frosinone · LIRH66° Stormo

66° StormoRemotely piloted aircraft training wing · regular: —
72° Stormo1985–2026: Breda Nardi TH-500B, Leonardo UH-139

Viterbo · LIRV72° Stormo

208° Gruppo VoloHelicopter training squadron · regular: Breda Nardi TH-500B
Gruppo Istruzione ProfessionaleGround school · regular: —
Scuola Marescialli dell’Aeronautica MilitareWarrant officer school · regular: —

Guidonia · LIRG60° Stormo "Arturo Ferrarin"

202° Gruppo VoloGlider and liaison squadron · regular: Grob G 103 Twin Astir
Centro di Selezione dell’Aeronautica MilitareRecruit selection centre · regular: —
Scuola di AerocooperazioneJoint air cooperation school · regular: —

Furbara · LIAR1ª Brigata Aerea Operazioni Speciali "Vezio Mezzetti"

17° Stormo IncursoriRIAM · Special forces wing · regular: —
1ª Brigata Aerea Operazioni SpecialiSpecial operations air brigade · regular: —

Cameri Air Base · LIMNComando Aeroporto di Cameri and 1° Reparto Manutenzione Velivoli

1° Reparto Manutenzione VelivoliAircraft maintenance regiment · regular: —
Centro Polifunzionale Velivoli AerotatticiMultifunctional tactical aircraft centre · regular: —
Comando Aeroporto di CameriAirfield command · regular: —
Nucleo Iniziale di Formazione JSFInitial F-35 formation unit · regular: —
53° Stormo—: Lockheed F-104S Starfighter

Brindisi · LIBRDistaccamento aeroportuale

Distaccamento Aeroportuale BrindisiAirfield detachment · regular: —
13° Servizio Tecnico DistaccatoTechnical liaison detachment · regular: —
32° Stormo—: Aeritalia G.91Y

Verona-Villafranca · LIPX3° Stormo / Reparto Mobile di Supporto

3° StormoExpeditionary support wing · regular: —
Infermeria PrincipalePrincipal infirmary · regular: —

Poggio Renatico · LIVKComando Operazioni Aerospaziali

Comando Operazioni AerospazialiAerospace operations command · regular: —
Brigata Controllo AerospazioAerospace control brigade · regular: —
11° Gruppo DAMIAir defence and missile integration group · regular: —
Reparto Difesa Aerea Missilistica IntegrataIntegrated air and missile defence unit · regular: —
NATO Deployable Air Command and Control CentreNATO deployable command and control centre · nato: —

Rome-Centocelle · LIRCComando Aeronautica Militare Roma and Comando Forze Mobilità e Supporto

Comando Aeronautica Militare RomaRome area command · regular: —
Comando Forze per la Mobilità e il SupportoMobility and support forces command · regular: —
Comando della Squadra Aerea1999–2014: —

Naples-Capodichino · LIRNComando Aeroporto Capodichino

Comando Aeroporto di CapodichinoAirfield command · regular: —
5° Gruppo Manutenzione VelivoliAircraft maintenance squadron · regular: —

Piacenza-San Damiano · LIMSDistaccamento aeroportuale

Distaccamento Aeroportuale PiacenzaAirfield detachment · regular: —
50° Stormo—: Panavia A-200 Tornado IDS

Martina Franca · 16° Stormo "Protezione delle Forze"

16° Stormo Protezione delle ForzeFucilieri dell’Aria · Force protection wing · regular: —
Battaglione Fucilieri dell’AriaAir fusiliers battalion · regular: —

Bracciano-Vigna di Valle · Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare

Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica MilitareHistorical museum · regular: —

Sarzana-Luni · LIQWDistaccamento aeroportuale of the 46ª Brigata Aerea

Distaccamento Aeroportuale Sarzana-LuniAirfield detachment · regular: —
24° Gruppo Caccia1940–: —

Pantelleria · LICGDistaccamento aeroportuale of the 37° Stormo

Distaccamento Aeroportuale PantelleriaAirfield detachment · regular: —

Lampedusa · LICDDistaccamento aeronautico of the 37° Stormo

Distaccamento Aeronautico LampedusaAirfield detachment · regular: —
134ª Squadriglia RadarRadar squadron · regular: —

Bari-Palese · LIBDComando Scuole A.M. / 3ª Regione Aerea

Comando delle Scuole A.M. / 3ª Regione AereaTraining and territorial command · regular: —
Reparto Mobile Comando e ControlloDeployable command and control unit · regular: —
2° Reparto Tecnico ComunicazioniTechnical communications regiment · regular: —

Alghero-Fertilia · LIEADistaccamento aeroportuale

Distaccamento Aeroportuale AlgheroAirfield detachment · regular: —
8° Stormo1939–1941: Breda Ba.88 Lince

Treviso-Sant’Angelo · LIPHAir force airfield unit

Reparto Aeronautica Militare TrevisoAir force airfield unit · regular: —

Milano-Linate · LIMLComando della Squadra Aerea / 1ª Regione Aerea

Squadriglia Collegamenti LinateLiaison flight · regular: Breda Nardi NH-500E
1° Reparto Tecnico ComunicazioniTechnical communications regiment · regular: —

Aviano · LIPAItalian base commander; USAF 31st Fighter Wing as the flying user

Comando Aeroporto di AvianoItalian airfield command · regular: —
31st Fighter Wing, United States Air ForceFighter wing · allied: General Dynamics F-16C/D Fighting Falcon

No unit matches that search.

Timeline

Italian Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

1909

April: Wilbur Wright demonstrates the Flyer at Centocelle in Rome and teaches the naval officer Mario Calderara, who in September becomes the first Italian to hold a military pilot’s licence. Two years later, over Libya, Italian aircraft fly the first reconnaissance, bombing and aerial photographic missions in the history of warfare.

1923

28 March: royal decree 645 separates the air arm from the army and creates the Regia Aeronautica. The war flag is presented to General Pier Ruggero Piccio at Centocelle on 4 November.

1933

1 July to 12 August: Italo Balbo leads 24 Savoia-Marchetti S.55X flying boats from Orbetello to Chicago and back, the largest formation ocean crossing ever flown. On 23 October 1934 Francesco Agello takes the Macchi-Castoldi M.C.72 to 709.202 km/h, a record for piston-engined seaplanes that still stands.

1940

10 June: Italy enters the war with about 300 C.R.42 biplanes delivered and monoplane fighters slower than their opponents; the corps sent to the Battle of Britain that autumn is withdrawn after a few disastrous weeks. The armistice of 8 September 1943 then splits the service in two, the co-belligerent air force flying with the Allies in the south and the Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana with the Germans in the north. Five years of war cost thousands of dead and missing; no official total has ever been published.

1946

17 June: with the monarchy gone, the Regia Aeronautica becomes the Aeronautica Militare. The peace treaty forbids Italy to build combat aircraft, so the new service flies Spitfires, Mustangs and, from 1950, de Havilland Vampires — its first jets, delivered to Amendola on 15 March.

1961

1 March: the Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionale is formed at Rivolto as the 313th Aerobatic Training Squadron, better known as the Frecce Tricolori, flying F-86E Sabres. It is still the largest permanent display formation in the world.

1963

The first F-104G Starfighters arrive. Italy goes on to build 205 F-104S under licence at Turin and flies the type for forty-one years, longer than anyone else — and loses 137 of them to accidents before the type retires.

1985

10–11 October: the Sigonella crisis. Italian air force security troops and Carabinieri surround a United States Delta Force detachment that has surrounded an aircraft carrying the hijackers of the Achille Lauro. Nobody fires; Rome refuses to hand the men over.

1988

28 August: three Frecce Tricolori MB-339s collide during the pierced-heart manoeuvre at the Ramstein air show in West Germany. Seventy people die — 67 spectators and the three pilots — and hundreds are injured. It is the worst air show accident in history until 2002.

1991

17 January to 11 March: Operation Locusta. Eight Tornado IDS, later ten, fly 226 sorties from Al Dhafra in the first Italian combat missions since 1945; one is shot down on the first night and its crew, Gianmarco Bellini and Maurizio Cocciolone, spend forty-seven days as prisoners of war. Eight years later, over Serbia and Kosovo, Italian aircraft fly 1,440 sorties in Operation Allied Force from bases that also carry most of the NATO campaign.

2004

16 March: the first Eurofighter is delivered, ending nearly a decade in which Italian air defence rested on leased British Tornado ADVs and American F-16s. The last F-104S leaves service the same year, the final Starfighters anywhere in front-line use.

2011

19 March: six Tornado ECRs leave Trapani-Birgi with HARM missiles and open the Italian air war over Libya. Italian bases carry most of Operation Unified Protector.

2015

The first F-35 built outside the United States rolls out at Cameri in March and flies in September. Amendola takes its first aircraft on 12 December 2016 and becomes the first F-35 base in Europe; Cameri goes on to build around 800 complete wing sets for other countries between 2014 and 2028.

2024

5 April: the AMX Ghibli is retired at Istrana after 35 years, and on 23 December Italy orders up to 24 Eurofighter Tranche 5 aircraft. By 2026 the Tornado force is down to one squadron at Ghedi, six Airbus A330 MRTT tankers have been contracted, the helicopter school has moved to Viterbo and the new 66th Wing has taken over Frosinone to train drone crews.

Combat record

Every conflict the Italian Air Force has flown in

The whole record, conflict by conflict, with the aircraft flown and where every figure comes from.

28conflicts

1911First

523Aircraft lost

2,157Killed

Arabian Peninsula: Task Force Air – Arabia 2026 to present Quick-reaction air defence of partner airspace and of Italian forces and interests in the Gulf, flying Eurofighter alert sorties backed by an airborne early-warning aircraft, a deployable radar and counter-drone systems
Libya and the central Mediterranean: Mare Sicuro and the bilateral mission 2015 to present Persistent armed-reconnaissance and maritime-surveillance flights over the sea approaches to Libya, plus the transport flights that sustain the Italian field hospital at Misurata and the bilateral training mission
Iraq and Syria: Operation Inherent Resolve 2014 to present Tactical air reconnaissance and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance for the anti-Daesh coalition, plus air-to-air refuelling of coalition aircraft and tactical transport
NATO air policing: the Baltic States, Iceland and the eastern flank 2013 to present Holds NATO quick-reaction alert on behalf of allies that have no fighter force of their own, scrambling to identify and escort unannounced or non-compliant aircraft in alliance airspace
Afghanistan: ISAF, Resolute Support and the Kabul airlift 2002–2021 Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and close air support for Regional Command West, which Italy led, plus tactical and strategic airlift; in August 2021 the force flew the Italian evacuation out of Kabul

Open the full combat record

From the magazine

Italian Air Force news from Afterburner

Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Italian Air Force and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.

19 September 2026Italian Typhoon Hit at Ta’if: Houthi Strike Damages an F-2000An Italian Air Force F-2000A Eurofighter was hit while parked at King Fahd Air Base, Ta’if, overnight on 17 to 18 September. Rome…Read the story 9 September 2026Italy Orders Two MQ-9A Reapers Built for NobodyItaly has bought two MQ-9A Block 5 Reapers that General Atomics had already built without a customer. It takes a very thin Italian fleet…Read the story 2 August 2026Italy’s Quiet Shield Over the GulfFor four months, one of Europe’s larger air forces was fighting a quiet air-defence campaign over the Arabian Peninsula…Read the story 24 August 2026Italy Buys 5,031 APKWS II Rockets as Counter-Drone WeaponsIn June 2025, an Italian Air Force spokesperson told Janes that Italy was not looking at acquiring any mission-specific systems to…Read the story 14 September 2026Fiat G.55 Centauro: Italy’s Best Fighter, Built Too LateA German commission flew it against the Bf 109G and Fw 190 and called it the best fighter in the Axis. Italy managed to build 164 of them.Read the story 7 September 2026Aerfer Sagittario 2: Italy’s Forgotten Supersonic FighterOn 4 December 1956, an Italian test pilot pointed a small silver aeroplane downhill from above 40,000 feet and became the first man to take…Read the story

All stories in Afterburner

Questions & Answers

Everything people ask about the Italian Air Force

What aircraft does the Italian Air Force fly?

The combat fleet is 93 Eurofighter Typhoons, about 47 F-35A and F-35B Lightning IIs and 35 Panavia Tornados in the strike and defence-suppression roles. Behind them sit four KC-767A tankers, two G550 CAEW early warning aircraft, four P-72A maritime patrol aircraft, four MQ-9A Reapers, C-130Js and C-27Js for airlift, HH-101A and HH-139 helicopters for rescue, and the T-346A, MB-339, T-345A and SF-260 training fleets. Roughly 450 to 500 aircraft in all.

Are Italian F-35s really built in Italy?

Yes. The Final Assembly and Check-Out facility at Cameri, near Novara, is the only F-35 assembly line outside the United States. It rolled out the first F-35 built anywhere other than Fort Worth in March 2015, has assembled Italian, Dutch, Polish and Swiss aircraft, and also builds complete wing sets for the programme — about 800 of them between 2014 and 2028 — alongside the European maintenance, repair and upgrade hub on the same site. Italy is a level-two partner in the programme and has committed to 115 aircraft, 95 for the air force and 20 F-35Bs for the navy.

Does the Italian Air Force still fly the Tornado?

Yes, but only just. Italy received 99 Tornados from 1982 and still has 35 on charge, but the type is now concentrated in a single squadron. On 4 July 2025 the 154th Squadron at Ghedi — the first Italian unit to get the Tornado, in 1982 — handed it over and converted to the F-35A. Everything that is left, including the twelve Tornado ECRs that give Italy one of only two dedicated defence-suppression fleets in Europe, is now flown by the 155th Squadron "Pantere Nere" until the aircraft reaches the end of its life.

Are there American nuclear weapons at Ghedi?

Neither the Italian nor the American government confirms it, and neither denies it. What is documented is that the United States Air Force keeps a Munitions Support Squadron, the 704th, at Ghedi, and that such units exist only at the four European bases where American B61 bombs are held for delivery by host-nation aircraft. The Federation of American Scientists has estimated around twenty weapons at Ghedi; American weapons are also widely reported at Aviano, which is Italian property flown from by the United States Air Force. The Italian delivery role is passing from the Tornado to the F-35A.

Who are the Frecce Tricolori and what happened at Ramstein?

The Frecce Tricolori are the 313th Aerobatic Training Squadron, formed at Rivolto on 1 March 1961 and flying ten Aermacchi MB-339s — nine in formation and one solo, the largest permanent display formation in the world. On 28 August 1988, at the Flugtag ’88 air show at Ramstein in West Germany, the solo aircraft arrived too early and too low during the Cardioide or pierced-heart manoeuvre and collided with one of the two formation groups. Three aircraft came down in front of the crowd. Seventy people were killed — 67 spectators and the three pilots, Ivo Nutarelli, Mario Naldini and Giorgio Alessio — and 346 spectators were seriously injured; some of the deaths occurred in the days and weeks afterwards. It remained the deadliest air show accident in history until Sknyliv in 2002.

Was the Regia Aeronautica really so badly equipped in the Second World War?

Largely, yes, and the reasons are worth naming. The mid-1930s fighter competition was effectively won by the Fiat C.R.42 Falco, a fixed-undercarriage biplane with two machine guns, because the Spanish Civil War had taught Italian planners that agility beat speed; 1,782 were built and production ran into 1943. The first monoplanes, the Fiat G.50 and the Macchi C.200 Saetta, were under-armed and too slow. When Italy licence-built the German Daimler-Benz engine it produced two genuinely first-class fighters, the C.202 Folgore and the C.205 Veltro, but only 252 Veltros were finished and they arrived in 1943. Doctrine was as damaging as equipment: the air force held a monopoly on everything that flew, so Italy built no carrier and no naval air arm, and admirals could not call for air support directly.

Why did Italy lose so many F-104 Starfighters?

Italy flew the Starfighter for forty-one years and longer than anyone, which is part of the answer: with 205 F-104S built at Turin on top of the F-104Gs, it simply flew more Starfighter hours than most. The losses were still severe: 137 Italian Starfighters of all marks were lost to accidents, 38 per cent of the fleet, at 14.7 per 100,000 flying hours. The aircraft was fast, unforgiving, short of wing and, in the low-level strike role NATO gave it, flown in exactly the regime it was least suited to. The last Italian F-104s left front-line service in 2004; a handful of two-seaters flew with the test unit into 2005.

What was the Sigonella crisis?

On the night of 10–11 October 1985 an Egyptian airliner carrying the four hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro was intercepted by American fighters and forced to land at Sigonella, an Italian Air Force base in Sicily that also hosts a United States naval air station. American Delta Force troops surrounded the aircraft; Italian air force security personnel and Carabinieri surrounded the Americans. Nobody fired. Prime Minister Bettino Craxi insisted that the hijackers had been seized on Italian soil and refused to hand them to Washington. It was the sharpest confrontation between the two allies of the whole Cold War, and it is still the episode most Italians associate with the base.

Continue the tour

Read the aircraft the Italian Air Force flew

Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.

Eurofighter F-2000A / TF-2000A TyphoonIn serviceLockheed Martin F-35A / F-35B Lightning IIIn servicePanavia A-200C / EA-200B Tornado IDS and ECRIn serviceGeneral Atomics MQ-9A Reaper (Predator B)In serviceAermacchi MB-339CD / FT-339CIn serviceAermacchi MB-339A-PANIn serviceSIAI-Marchetti T-260B (SF-260EA)In serviceAermacchi MB-339A (T-339A)1982–2025AMX International A-11B / TA-11B Ghibli1989–2024General Atomics MQ-1 Predator A / A+ and MQ-1C ER2005–2022SIAI-Marchetti SF-260AM1977–2009Lockheed F-104G / RF-104G / TF-104G Starfighter1963–2005Aeritalia F-104S / F-104S ASA / ASA-M Starfighter1969–2004Fiat G.91 / G.91R / G.91T1959–1995Aeritalia G.91Y1970–1994Aermacchi MB-3261961–1990Savoia-Marchetti S.M.79 Sparviero1936–1955Macchi C.205V Veltro1943–1951Fiat G.55 Centauro1943–1950Macchi C.200 Saetta1939–1946Fiat C.R.42 Falco1939–1945Fiat G.50 Freccia1939–1945Reggiane Re.2000 Falco1940–1945CANT Z.1007 Alcione1939–1945

Sources & Further Reading

Every fact, checked

Aeronautica Militare: official siteservice structure, history, museum and unit pages
Aeronautica Militare: La nostra organizzazionechief of staff, high commands, the three-level structure
Aeronautica Militare: I reparti dell’Aeronautica Militaremission and equipment of each wing, training unit and support unit; note that parts of the page lag behind the retirement of the AMX and the AB-212
Aeronautica Militare: 6° Stormo, transizione del 154° Gruppo Volo su velivolo F-354 July 2025: Ghedi becomes an F-35 main operating base, Tornado concentrated in the 155th Squadron
Aeronautica Militare: Air and Space Warfare Centre, il nuovo comandantethe centre was constituted at Pratica di Mare on 22 September 2025; change of command 7 September 2026
Aeronautica Militare: nasce il Reparto "Sviluppo, Pianificazione e Trasformazione dello Strumento Aereo e Spaziale"15 September 2026 reorganisation of the air staff
Ministero della Difesa: Documento Programmatico Pluriennale 2025–2027defence budget of €31,298.4 m for 2025; legal establishment of the air force under decree 185/2023
Leonardo: Italy places order for up to 24 Eurofighter Typhoon jetsTranche 5 contract signed in Rome on 23 December 2024 to replace Tranche 1 aircraft
The Aviationist: Italy will procure six A330 MRTT tankers to replace the KC-767€1.4 bn contract, conflicting signature dates of 23 February and 16 April 2026, and the abandoned KC-46 programme
The Aviationist: Italian MQ-9A destroyed in the March Kuwait attack15 March 2026 loss at Ali Al Salem, the defence staff statement and the decision not to move the aircraft
The Aviationist: The Italian Air Force bids farewell to the AMX Ghibliretirement ceremony at Istrana on 5 April 2024
Leonardo: further information about the F-35 programmeCameri as the only FACO outside the United States, the MRO&U hub, and about 800 complete wing sets to be produced between 2014 and 2028
Federation of American Scientists: Italy’s nuclear anniversarythe 704th Munitions Support Squadron at Ghedi and the estimate of twenty B61 bombs; neither government confirms
OurAirports: aerodrome and runway datacoordinates, elevations, runway designators, lengths and surfaces. AIP Italia (aim.enav.it) could not be reached from this environment, so these figures are OurAirports data cross-checked against the Italian Wikipedia infoboxes; where the two disagree the discrepancy is noted in the research report
Associazione Arma Aeronautica, Sezione di Padova: il 32° Stormo di Amendoladates for the 1993 move, the AMX conversion, the 2002 and 2005 drone unit dates, and the 12 December 2016 F-35 arrival
The Aviationist: First in Europe, the Italian Air Force Declares IOC For Its First F-35A Squadronthe IOC declaration of 30 November 2018, the ten aircraft delivered, TLP 18-4 and the quotation from General Rosso
NATO Allied Air Command: Italy first ally to deploy F-35 to NATO mission in Icelandsix F-35As from Amendola at Keflavik for three weeks in October 2019
NATO Allied Air Command: Italian F-35A detachment certified for Iceland, 6 May 2022the 2022 certification of the Amendola detachment and the quotation from Lieutenant Colonel Cervone
The Aviationist: Operazione Ghibli, gli AMX in guerranineteen AMX at Amendola in 1999, the squadrons involved, the commander of the 13° Gruppo and the weapons carried
Aviohub: AMX, in pensione dopo 35 anni di carriera operativa240,000 fleet flying hours, 252 Kosovo sorties, roughly 10,000 hours over Afghanistan and the April 2024 retirement
The Aviationist: Italian Air Force Stands Up New F-35B Squadronthe reactivation of the 101° Gruppo at Amendola on 1 July 2025 and the squadron’s lineage
The Aviationist: Third Italian F-35B Goes To The Italian Air Forcethe air force’s first F-35B at Amendola on 22 February 2020, the 60/30 split of the Italian order and the navy’s objection
Defense News: Italy confirms military drone crashed in Libyathe loss of an unarmed MQ-9 near Tarhuna in November 2019 and the Italian statement
FoggiaToday: atterraggio fuori campo per un Predator di Amendolathe forced landing of an MQ-1C Predator A+ beside the base on 23 October 2019 and the air force statement
US Air Forces in Europe: US F-35s join Israeli, Italian and UK partners for Falcon Strike 21the dates 7–15 June 2021, the nations and the aircraft types at Amendola
Army Air Corps Library and Museum: 97th Bombardment Groupthe first Eighth Air Force heavy bomber mission on 17 August 1942, the move to Amendola on 16 January 1944 and the two Distinguished Unit Citations
Foggia Reporter: quando da Amendola decollava l’Air Force statunitensethe 2nd Bombardment Group’s 412 missions and the 1,233 bombers of the April 1945 offensive
The Aviationist: Legion 15, the Italian Tornado shot down during Desert Stormthe call sign, the target, the weapons, the ZSU-23-4 hit and the forty-seven days of captivity
Federation of American Scientists: Italy’s Nuclear Anniversarythe December 1963 first deployment, eleven vaults completed in 1997, the estimate of twenty weapons and the 704th MUNSS
Federation of American Scientists: US Nuclear Weapons Base In Italy Eyed By Alleged Terroriststhe July 2015 arrests, the custodial role of the 704th MUNSS and the 2008 US security findings on European sites
Kristensen, Korda, Johns and Knight, United States nuclear weapons, 2025 (Nuclear Notebook)about 100 B61-3 and B61-4 bombs at six bases in five European countries, Aviano and Ghedi among them, with no published per-base breakdown
Air Force Times: Canadian senator accidentally revealed locations of US nuclear weapons in Europethe April 2019 NATO Parliamentary Assembly draft, its exact wording, the De Morgen report and the revised version
US Air Force, Spangdahlem Air Base: 704th Munitions Support Squadron, Ghedi Air Base, Italythe official description of the squadron as a tenant unit at Ghedi under the 52nd Munitions Maintenance Group
The Aviationist: First F-35A Officially Delivered To The 6° Stormo At Ghedi Air Basethe 16 June 2022 delivery, serial MM7366 coded 6-01, the three-Tornado escort and the second airframe a month later
The Aviation: 40 anni del Tornadothe first Italian Tornado at Ghedi on 27 August 1982 and the first Italian-assembled Tornado flight from Turin-Caselle on 5 December 1975
Analisi Difesa: F-35, assegnato il progetto per i lavori alla base di Ghedithe June 2018 design award to Proger with Manens-Tifs, the hangar and command building, the fifteen 440 square-metre shelters and the value of over 60 million euro
Progin: Ministero Difesa, Aeroporto Ghedithe scope of the definitive design in 2020, the two flight lines of fifteen shelters each and the requirement for Italian and American approval
Zona Militar: el 6° Stormo alcanzó las 5.000 horas de vuelo con sus F-355,000 F-35 flying hours in April 2026 and the expectation that the Tornado serves to at least 2030
The First Air Races: Brescia, September 1909the venue on the plain between Brescia and Montichiari, the dates 8–20 September 1909, Curtiss’s Grand Prix win and prize money, Calderara’s passenger prize and Rougier’s 198.5-metre altitude prize
Aviation Report: 154° Gruppo Diavoli Rossi, dal Tornado all’F-35 con una livrea commemorativathe 2 July 2025 commemorative scheme, the Banzai motto and the forty-three years of Tornado service
Aviation Collectables Company: breve storia del 53° Stormothe F-104 years at Cameri, the 1997 arrival of the Tornado F.3 and the move of the 21° Gruppo to Gioia del Colle on 28 July 1999
Starfighters.it: gruppi volothe 21° Gruppo’s conversion to the F-104G and move to Cameri in 1963, the F-104S from 1 December 1971 and the Tornado conversion on 14 February 1997
Circolo del 53: ricordi di volo, collisione Cap. Carantithe night collision of 8 February 1968, the circumstances and the death of Captain Caranti
Circolo del 53: commemorazione Cap. Ghislandithe death of Captain Giovanni Ghislandi of the 21° Gruppo on 30 June 1978 and the memorial at Sondrio
Circolo del 53: commemorata la memoria del Capitano pilota Giovanni BallestraBallestra’s birth on 20 April 1949, the accident of 18 January 1979 near Castelletto di Branduzzo and the monument built from engine parts
Pietre della Memoria: monumento ai 1470 piloti brevettati a Cameri1,470 pilots licensed at Cameri between 1913 and 1922 and the text of D’Annunzio’s dedication to the Palli brothers
Lockheed Martin: First Italian-Built F-35B Rolls Out of Cameri Production Facilitythe 5 May 2017 rollout, the 101 acres and 22 buildings, 11 assembly stations, five MRO&U bays, over 800 staff, and the production programme of 60 F-35A, 30 F-35B, 29 Dutch aircraft and 835 wing sets
The Aviationist: first ever F-35 assembled internationally rolled out of Camerithe AL-1 rollout on 12 March 2015 and the December 2014 selection of Cameri as the European MRO&U centre
The Aviationist: the first ever F-35 assembled internationally makes maiden flightAL-1’s first flight on 7 September 2015, about an hour and a half, chased by a Eurofighter
Second Line of Defense: an Italian first, the F-35 crosses the Atlantic, 5 February 2016the departure from Cameri, the 14:30 arrival at Patuxent River, four refuellings, about seven hours on the last leg and the supporting aircraft
The Aviationist: first Italian Navy F-35B arrives at NAS Patuxent River after transatlantic crossingthe 31 January 2018 crossing from Cameri, the Lajes stop and the supporting KC-767A, Eurofighter and C-130J
The Aviationist: first USAFE F-35 inducted at Cameri’s MRO&U facilityairframe 19-5475 of the 495th Fighter Squadron inducted on 24 March 2025 and the quotation from Captain Chiandussi
The Aviationist: first Polish F-35 built at Cameri’s FACO has flownthe first flight of Polish F-35A 3517 in July 2026, 16 of Poland’s 32 aircraft built at Cameri, 835 wing sets and about fifteen aircraft a year
Swiss Federal Administration: Air2030, Swiss F-35A from Italian productionat least 24 of 36 Swiss F-35As to be assembled at Cameri, eight built in the United States for training, deliveries from 2027
Army Recognition: first Swiss F-35A enters assembly at Cameri after order reductionMJ-4 in structural assembly confirmed 14 August 2026, and the Federal Council decision of 6 March 2026 to work towards about 30 aircraft
Leonardo: the first Italian F-35 rolls out of the hangarCameri described as the only F-35 production facility outside the United States, with more than 750 people on aircraft and wing production in 2015
Monferrato Web TV: la Città di Casale al centenario dell’intitolazione dell’aeroporto di Cameri a Natale e Silvio Pallithe October 2021 centenary of the 1921 dedication and the Palli brothers’ connection to Casale Monferrato
Aviation Report: Un po’ di storia dell’acrobazia aerea militare in Italia e la nascita delle Frecce TricoloriFougier and Campoformido, the five wing display teams of the 1950s with their aircraft, and why Rivolto was chosen
Aviation Report: 65 anni di storia della Pattuglia Acrobatica Nazionalefounding date and founder, aircraft periods, countries visited, and the M-346 transition keeping the ten-aircraft formation
MiGFlug Afterburner: Ramstein 1988 — The Disaster That Changed Airshowsthe sequence of the collision, the casualty breakdown of 31 plus 36 plus three, the count closed on 21 November 1988, the board of inquiry finding, and the German and NATO rule changes
NATO Allied Air Command: Ramstein Air Base commemorates victims of airshow tragedythe 2018 commemoration, the seventy dead and more than 1,000 injured, and the quotation from Major General Claudio Gabellini
TGCOM24: Ramstein e gli altri, tutti gli incidenti delle Frecce Tricolorithe 1973 Torvaianica collision, the March 1974 Codroipo collision with the names and ages of the two pilots, and the death of Antonio Gallus in 1981
The Aviationist: Three Frecce Tricolori Aircraft Collide Mid-Air During Displaythe 6 May 2025 Pantelleria collision, the aircraft involved, the injury, and the verbatim Italian Air Force statement
The Aviationist: New M-346 Jet For The Frecce Tricolori Display Team Breaks Coverthe announcement of 12 September 2024 at Istrana and why the M-345 was rejected for large-formation aerobatics
Aviation Report: dal 25 maggio 2020 le Frecce Tricolori sorvoleranno i capoluoghi di regionethe 2020 Giro d’Italia route city by city, the dates and the finish over Rome on 2 June
Ghigi Aviation: La base aerea di Rivoltothe 2° Stormo lineage from 25 December 1925, its moves to Vicenza, Cameri, Treviso and Rivolto in 1993, and the conversion to the missile role
Report Difesa: 4° Stormo di Grosseto, uno dei reparti storici della Forza Armataformation at Campoformido on 1 June 1931, the constituent squadriglie, the 1933 adoption of the horse, wartime types, post-war aircraft, the F-104G in April 1963 and F-104S in 1970, the Eurofighter from 16 March 2004, the 20° Gruppo Kuwaiti course and the 19 March 2021 full-load mission
QRA Aviation: 4° Stormo Caccia di Grosseto, 95 anni al servizio dei cieli d’Italiawing lineage, aircraft progression, the 16 March 2004 first Eurofighter, Typhoon flight-hour milestones and the current squadron structure
Aviation Report: Il 4° Stormo raggiunge le 70.000 ore di volo con il caccia Eurofighter Typhoon50,000 hours in May 2018 and 70,000 in January 2022, and entry into operational service in 2005
MILAVIA: Italian Air Force Fighter Groups’ Centennial 1917–2017, Grossetothe 10 April 1917 constitution of the 9° and 10° Gruppi, the 91ª Squadriglia under Baracca, and the 4° Stormo at Grosseto since 1959
Museo Francesco Baracca, Lugo: il cavallino rampantethe Piemonte Reale origin, the letter of 27 April 1918, the museum’s position that the horse was always black, the verbatim words attributed to Countess Paolina, the 1962 memoir as sole source, and the 9 July 1932 first appearance at Spa
Associazione 4° Stormo Gorizia: Araldicathe black horse on white of the 10° Gruppo and the white horse on black of the 9°, the role of the Duke of Aosta in the 1933–34 adoption, and the older tradition that the horse was originally red
MaremmaOggi: Trent’anni senza Ettore, il ricordo del IV Stormothe death of Lieutenant Ettore Di Blasio on 5 May 1993, the circumstances, the 2023 memorial and the recollection of Colonel Giorgio Riolo
Il Tirreno: Febbraio 1996, Grosseto e lo schianto fra i capannoni dell’aereo fuori controllothe February 1996 F-104ASA crash in the industrial zone, the warehouses and the absence of deaths on the ground
La Nazione: Cos’è lo scramble e perché i caccia militari sono decollati da Grossetothe routine nature of QRA launches from Grosseto and the sonic booms heard across central and northern Italy
decimomannuairbase.com: La storiaCampo di Manovra Segreto N°34, the Bizerte raid of 11 June 1940, General Cagna, the B-26 groups and the February 1944 six-lane take-off system, the 1954–55 rebuilding, the German detachment from 26 September 1960, the ACMI from 1973 and operational October 1979 with the cost split, the 1986 hydrant system, the 1991 MiG-29s, the RAF departure in 1998 and the 2011 Libya detachments
decimomannuairbase.com: Gli incidenti dell’Aeroportothe accident register from 1940 onwards by date, type, serial, unit and fatalities, including the 27 September 1941 collisions, the RAF Jaguar of 25 July 1978 and the JG74 F-4F of 21 August 1981
GlobalSecurity.org: Decimomannu Air Base, Sardiniathe ACMI subsystems, real-time monitoring of up to eight aircraft, the master station and seven remote units with six on sea buoys, and USAFE training deployments in the 1990s
The Aviationist: AWTI 50th Anniversary, Decimomannuthe founding nations Italy, Germany, Great Britain and Canada, the ACMI and the Capo Frasca air-to-ground range, and the state of the base in 2009
The Aviationist: German Air Force Typhoons have just completed the very last training campaign at Decimomannuthe German presence from 1960 to 2016, the final campaign with TaktLwG 31, 300 personnel and sixty tonnes in sixteen containers, twenty sorties a day and the departure dates of 15 and 16 September 2016
The Aviationist: IFTS, A Deep Dive Into The Joint Italian Air Force – Leonardo Training Centrethe 130,000 square metre campus, 22 M-346s, 40 instructors, 8,000 flight hours a year, up to 80 pilots, the simulator fit, the customer air forces and the Profumo quotation
L’Unione Sarda: Decimomannu, inaugurated the flight school for future top gunsthe presentation of 13 November 2022, the capacity of up to 80 pilots a year and the officials present
The Aviationist: German Tornado drops ordnance on bomb range in Sardinia sparking firethe 4 September 2014 incident, 30 hectares burned within the 1,314 hectares of the range, and the suspension of activity to 15 September
Il Fatto Quotidiano: Veleni di Quirra, assolti gli otto ex comandanti del poligonothe verdict of 11 November 2021 at Lanusei, the eight defendants, the charge, the article 530 formula, the 167 people diagnosed and the eight years of proceedings
Nationalia: Sardinians protest island’s military occupationthe Capo Frasca demonstration of 12 October 2019, between 1,000 and 4,000 participants, the 42-association platform, over 35,000 hectares under servitude and the 60 per cent figure
L’Unione Sarda: the A Foras demonstration in Cagliarithe demonstration of 2 June 2024, over 500 participants and the verbatim claim that 66 per cent of Italian military property is in Sardinia
Italy Quietly Deployed Eurofighters, SAMP/T And Counter-Drone Systems To Defend Gulf AlliesComposition of Task Force Air – Arabia: the four task groups, the Eurofighter, E-550A and C-130J/KC-130J elements, the AN/TPS-77 radar, ACUS-E counter-drone system, the army SAMP/T, KRONOS and Skynex, the March 2026 deployment date, the Ta’if basing and the roughly 400 air force and 300 army personnel.
Italian Eurofighter Typhoon Struck In Houthi Attack On Saudi Air BaseThe 18 September 2026 strike on King Fahd Air Base: Crosetto’s confirmation that an F-2000A in a decentralised area of the base was hit, the absence of a damage assessment, no Italian personnel involved, and a recap of the 15 March 2026 Kuwait attack.
Houthi attack damages an Italian fighter jet in Saudi ArabiaIndependent confirmation of the overnight 18 September 2026 attack, the four-aircraft Task Group Typhoon, the aircraft parked in a remote area, no injuries, and Crosetto’s contact with General Luciano Portolano.
Colpito un Eurofighter italiano nella base di Ta’if in Arabia Saudita. Crosetto: nessun feritoItalian-language report of Crosetto’s statement on the Ta’if strike, the base’s position 70km east of Mecca, and a contingent figure of about 300 air force personnel split between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, which conflicts with the 400 given elsewhere.
Italy Sends Eurofighter Jets and SAMP/T Air Defense to Counter Gulf Drone and Missile ThreatsSupports the second-half-of-March 2026 start date attributed to the Italian Ministry of Defence, the task-group breakdown, the presence in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Bahrain, and the absence of any disclosed Italian engagement of a target.
Presence and roles of Italian forces in military missions in the Middle East between crisis and cooperationIl Sole 24 Ore survey of 13 March 2026 giving current Italian strengths: 141 personnel on Prima Parthica in Iraq against 1,270 authorised for 2025, 320 air force personnel in Kuwait with 239 moved to Saudi Arabia on 6 March 2026, and the UNIFIL, MIBIL, MFO and Aspides commitments.
Italian MQ-9A Destroyed In March Kuwait Attack After Italy Kept It In Place To Avoid Appearing Involved In Iran WarThe 15 March 2026 strike on Ali Al Salem: the MQ-9A of Task Group Araba Fenice destroyed in its shelter, General Portolano’s confirmation, the unconfirmed reports of two damaged Eurofighters, the decision not to move or launch aircraft, and Crosetto on the limits of Italian authorisation.
10.000 ore di volo per i Typhoon italiani basati in KuwaitReport of 20 February 2026 on Task Group Typhoon passing 10,000 flight hours at Ali Al Salem since March 2019, the aerotactical reconnaissance role within the Italian National Contingent Command Air, and Colonel Marco Mangini’s remarks.
Operazione Prima Parthica: 6.000 ore di volo per i Tornado italiani basati in KuwaitThe 31 October 2024 ceremony marking 6,000 Tornado flight hours and the handover between Task Group Devil, given as active since November 2014, and Task Group Typhoon, given as deployed since March 2019; also the intelligence, surveillance and aerotactical reconnaissance mission statement.
Italy — Operation Inherent Resolve coalition pageCoalition statement of the Italian contribution: force protection, refuellers, transport and humanitarian flight crews, refuelling aircraft and multiple reconnaissance and surveillance aircraft, spread across Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. Confirms the non-strike character of the Italian air role.
La partecipazione italiana nelle operazioni Odyssey Dawn e Unified Protector in Libia nel 2011, by Christian PettenàUnit-level detail for Libya 2011: the 155° Gruppo ETS Tornado ECR, 6° Stormo Tornado IDS, 18° Gruppo F-16, 4° and 36° Stormo Eurofighters, 32° and 51° Stormo AMX, 8° Gruppo KC-767A from 20 May, 28° Gruppo MQ-9A from 8 August, and the 31 March to 31 October dates.
Guerra alla Libia con settecento super bombe italianeThe alternative Italian munitions tally for Libya 2011 — 710 bombs and guided missiles, of which 520 bombs and 30 cruise missiles from air force aircraft and 160 from navy AV-8B — attributed to air staff briefings and a document dated 6 June 2011, and explicitly described as first and partial official data.
Operation Unified Protector (was Odyssey Dawn) explained: Final ReportContemporaneous record that the Italian Ministry of Defence never released a sortie and precision-weapons breakdown for Unified Protector, unlike its British, French and Danish counterparts, and the NATO campaign totals of 26,323 sorties and 9,658 strike sorties.
The Role of Italian Fighter Aircraft in Crisis Management Operations (Istituto Affari Internazionali research paper 16)The single best consolidated set of Italian sortie and flight-hour figures: Locusta, Deny Flight 543/1,288, Sharp Guard 230/267, Deliberate Force 26/41, Decisive Endeavour 1,250/3,150, Deliberate Guard 2,974/7,227, Allied Force 1,072/2,903, Enduring Freedom 328/860, ISAF 3,301/8,477 to 31 December 2013 and Unified Protector 2,113/7,255.
Italy at War (special report)Supports the Allied Force detail: 250 war sorties, 42 aircraft, 14 Italian airbases hosting 450 allied aircraft, the 27 March 1999 HARM launches by the 155° Gruppo ETS and the 14 April 1999 AMX debut by the 103° Gruppo with infra-red guided Mk 82.
LEGION 15: The Story Of The Italian Air Force Tornado IDS Shot Down During Operation Desert StormThe mission of 17–18 January 1991 in detail: the LEGION 15 and CAESAR 05 packages, the two gear aborts, the failed tanker rendezvous, aircraft MM7074, the run at 250 feet, the ZSU-23-4 hit, the 47 days of captivity and release on 3 March 1991, and 225 further sorties afterwards.
154° Gruppo operations in Bosnia: the Red Devils in Operation Deliberate ForceFirst-hand account of the only Italian squadron in Deliberate Force: 35 Italian sorties out of 3,515 NATO sorties, the Ghedi basing, the 45-degree dive delivery of Mk 83 bombs without laser guidance, and the claim that this was the first Italian combat mission flown from an Italian base since the Second World War.
13 dicembre 1992, l’Italia torna in Somalia con la missione UNOSOM IbisOperation Ibis: the 13 December 1992 start under Restore Hope, the transfer to UNOSOM II on 4 May 1993, the ITALFOR-IBIS contingent built on the Folgore and relieved by the Legnano on 6 September 1993, the sector dimensions, the withdrawal from 16 January to 21 March 1994, and the eleven military dead plus the Red Cross nurse Maria Cristina Luinetti.
Operazione Antica Babilonia: atterra in territorio iracheno il primo C-130J dell’AMIReport of 9 July 2003 on the first Aeronautica Militare C-130J landing at Tallil carrying vehicles and equipment, and the claim that the Italian Air Force was the first operator to use the type on an official military mission.
20.000 ore nel cielo afghano per AMX e Predator italianiDecember 2013 milestone: 12,000 hours by the Predator A of Task Group Astore deployed since 2007 from the 32° Stormo, 8,000 hours by the AMX of Task Group Black Cats at Herat since 2009 drawn from the 32° and 51° Stormo, and the roughly 200-strong Joint Air Task Force under Colonel Francesco Saverio Agresti.
Italy and Spain take lead of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing missionNATO confirmation of 3 August 2023 that incoming Italian and Spanish Eurofighter detachments took over the Baltic Air Policing mission from the departing Portuguese, Romanian and British forces.
Italian Eurofighters conclude NATO Baltic Air Policing mission in Estonia after two consecutive rotationsReport of 4 April 2026 giving the only readable activity figure for an Italian air-policing detachment: more than 1,300 flying hours at Ämari across two consecutive rotations on continuous quick-reaction alert, before handover to the Portuguese Air Force.
Detachments conducting the NATO Air Policing Mission in the Baltic states changed over in ŠiauliaiLithuanian Ministry of National Defence account of the 31 July 2026 changeover: four Italian Eurofighter EF-2000 and about 200 personnel relieving four French Rafale and six Romanian F-16, and the statement that this is Italy’s sixth deployment to Šiauliai.
Allied Air Command: Italian F-35A Task Force Air reaches full operational capability in IcelandNATO Allied Air Command release on the May and June 2022 Italian F-35A deployment to Keflavík with four aircraft and more than 130 personnel under Colonel Gianmarco Di Loreto, certified in late April 2022, and confirmation that it was Italy’s third F-35A rotation to Iceland after 2019 and 2020.
Italy pulls out of Eastern Sentry but stays in NATO’s Eastern flankReport of 18 September 2025 giving the competing account: Italy reversing the planned dispatch of two Eurofighters to Poland under domestic political pressure and instead extending its SAMP/T and CAEW commitments, with four F-35, CAEW and a SAMP/T battery at Ämari and troops in Bulgaria, Hungary and Latvia.
Italian Air Force MQ-9A Predator B Drone Allegedly Shot Down In LibyaThe loss of 20 November 2019 near Tarhuna about 65km from Tripoli: the aircraft belonged to the 28° Gruppo, 32° Stormo at Amendola, was flying an Operazione Mare Sicuro task, the Libyan National Army claimed the shoot-down and the Italian Ministry of Defence said only that the cause was under investigation.
50.000 ore di volo per i Predator di AmendolaOperational history of the Italian Predator fleet: crew training in the United States from 2004, first operational deployment to Iraq in 2005 under Antica Babilonia, later deployments to Afghanistan, Djibouti, Kuwait, Kosovo, Libya and the central Mediterranean, 50,000 cumulative hours by 2 June 2020, and the 28° Gruppo at Amendola with the 61° Gruppo reactivated at Sigonella on 10 July 2017.
Ministero della Difesa: November 11th, 1961: Kindu Massacreofficial confirmation of the date and of the figure of thirteen Italian Air Force dead
Difesa Online: Kindu, the 55th anniversary marked at Pisaconfirms the 46a Brigata Aerea at Pisa as the parent unit and the two C-119 transports on the Kamina run
The World’s First Warplane (Air & Space Magazine)Composition of the nine-aircraft Italian flotilla sent to Libya in 1911 — two Blériot XI two-seaters, three Nieuport monoplanes, two Farman biplanes and two Etrich Taube monoplanes — and the technical description of Piazza’s Blériot. Explicitly gives no sortie, loss or casualty totals.
Malta in the Second World War (Imperial War Museums)Institutional narrative of the siege used for context only: the arrival of Luftwaffe units in January 1941, their withdrawal to Russia in June and return in December, and Operation Pedestal in August 1942 as the point at which the Axis failure to take air and sea superiority became clear. It carries no Italian sortie or loss figures.
WWII Royal Italian Air Force (National Museum of the United States Air Force)US Air Force institutional fact sheet. Used for the 1943 split and for the competing figure of over 4,000 missions flown by the anti-Axis Italian air force between September 1943 and May 1945, against the roughly 11,000 given in the Italian literature.

Figures verified 2026-09-19. Order of Battle pages are regenerated from a single dataset; if a number here disagrees with a Book of Beasts page, this page is the more recent of the two.

Photographs: Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jackson Manske / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: kevinmcgill from Edinburgh, United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: U.S. Air Force AFCENT by Senior Airman Zachary Foster / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Jim van de Burgt / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: DUNCAN KIRK from Coeur d’Alene, United States / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Kurush Pawar from Dubai, United Arab Emirates / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Alert5 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: USAF / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: bomberpilot / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Kambui / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Anna Zvereva from Tallinn, Estonia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Sergey Korovkin 84 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: 0lorenzo0 at English Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Marcxosm / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: Gian Marco Anzellotti from Roma, Italia / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Colin Cooke Photo / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Tim Felce (Airwolfhound) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Clement2569 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Aeroprints.com / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Andre Gerwing / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Essence Myricks / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Md Shaifuzzaman Ayon / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Hotolmo22 / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: Jelle Vandebeeck from Heverlee, Belgium / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: JoachimKohler-HB / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Alan Wilson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Anidaat / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Simon Butler / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Adrian Pingstone / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Jerry Gunner / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: United States Air Force / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Lorenzo Tomasi / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Bernard Spragg NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: USAAF / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: RuthAS / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: SCDBob / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.5) · Photo: simon butler from halesowen, uk / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Oren Rozen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: HenkSeaLion / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Tony Hisgett / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Oren Rozen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Fortepan / Hidvegi Zoltan / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Steve Lynes from Sandshurst, United Kingdom / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: British Air Ministry / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Regia Aeronautica / Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · Photo: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archives / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Italian Air Force

Italian Air Force

The Italian Air Force story: a hundred years between propaganda and the F-35

1884–1923: from a balloon section to the world’s second independent air force

1923–1939: records, ocean crossings and a biplane that won the wrong competition

1940–1945: the war the Regia Aeronautica could not fight, and the two air forces that came out of it

1946–1990: Sabres, Starfighters and the lament of the taxpayer

1991–2011: Locusta, the Balkans and Libya — learning to go first

2012–2026: Cameri, the F-35 and the last of the Tornados

The Italian Air Force in numbers

Service

Strength

Infrastructure

How the Italian Air Force is organised

Stato Maggiore dell’Aeronautica Militare

Comando della Squadra Aerea / 1ª Regione Aerea

Comando Operazioni Aerospaziali

Comando Forze da Combattimento

Comando Forze per la Mobilità e il Supporto

1ª Brigata Aerea Operazioni Speciali

9ª Brigata Aerea ISTAR-EW

Comando Logistico dell’Aeronautica Militare

Comando delle Scuole A.M. / 3ª Regione Aerea

Air and Space Warfare Centre

What the Italian Air Force flies today

On order

Every type the Italian Air Force has retired

Where the Aeronautica Militare flies from

Who is stationed where in the Italian Air Force

Italian Air Force milestones, 1914 to today

Every conflict the Italian Air Force has flown in

Italian Air Force news from Afterburner

Everything people ask about the Italian Air Force

Read the aircraft the Italian Air Force flew

Every fact, checked

Recent Posts

Contact

Jets

Locations

About