Italian Army Aviation
The Aviazione dell’Esercito is the third and least-known of Italy’s three military flying services, and the only one that built Western Europe’s first indigenous attack helicopter. About 6,000 people, roughly 175 aircraft and six flying regiments fly the A129 Mangusta, the NH90, the Chinook and a legacy of Agusta-Bell Hueys that is older than most of the crews. Its record is genuinely hard: Somalia, the Balkans, Iraq, thirteen unbroken years over Herat and an unbroken helicopter detachment in south Lebanon since 1979. Its problem is equally plain. The Mangusta went to war in 1993 and is still going; the AW249 Fenice meant to replace it was contracted in January 2017, first flew in August 2022 and will not reach a regiment before 2027.
The Italian Army Aviation story: the first European attack helicopter, and the forty years it took to replace it
1951–1956: a few Piper Cubs, and a law that said the army could not fly
The Italian army’s air arm began, as most army air arms did, with artillery officers who wanted to see over the hill. On 10 May 1951 the ministry of war set up a Nucleo di Aviazione Leggera at the artillery school at Bracciano, north of Rome; by December it had become the Reparto Aereo di Artiglieria, and in 1952 the strip at Monte dell’Oro ran the first pilot-observer course. The equipment was sixty-five Piper L-18 Cubs and thirty-seven Super Cubs. The obstacle was not money but law: the Aeronautica Militare had a statutory monopoly on military flying, and the army was permitted only what the air force did not want. That single legal fact shaped everything the arm became.
1956–1990: the weight limit, the Hueys and the Chinook
The monopoly broke in 1956, when the rule was rewritten to reserve to the air force only fixed-wing aircraft above 1,500 kg. Helicopters were not covered, and the army took the opening with both hands. An experimental helicopter unit formed in 1956 on the Agusta-Bell 47G; in September 1958 the first and second helicopter units stood up at Casarsa della Delizia and Bolzano, where their descendants still sit. Then came the Huey years: forty-eight AB-204B in 1963, a hundred and five AB-205 in 1965, a hundred and fifty AB-206 in 1967, and in 1973 the first CH-47C Chinook, built under licence at Frosinone by Elicotteri Meridionali. By the late 1970s the army, not the air force, was Italy’s helicopter service.
1978–1993: the Mangusta — Europe’s first home-grown attack helicopter
In 1978 Agusta began work on something no European company had attempted: an attack helicopter designed as one from the first drawing, rather than a utility machine with guns bolted on. The A129 Mangusta first flew on 11 September 1983 — Italian sources give 15 September as the official date — and it was a genuinely clever aeroplane. Two engines where the American AH-1 Cobra had one, a four-blade composite rotor, a digital integrated management system years ahead of its time, and a fuselage narrow enough to be hard to see head-on. Deliveries began around 1990. It was also small, underpowered and, at first, unarmed except for TOW missiles and rockets: the 20 mm turret came only with the CBT standard in 2002.
1990–2006: Namibia, Somalia, the Balkans and Iraq — the arm goes to war
The arm’s war record began quietly, with a month in Namibia in 1990 and Operation Provide Comfort over Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991, and then did not stop. Thirteen helicopters went to Somalia in December 1992 as ITALHELY: three A129, six AB-205 and four CH-47C. On 2 July 1993, at the checkpoint the Italians called Pasta, a Mangusta destroyed a captured Iveco VM 90 with a TOW missile — the A129 Mangusta’s combat debut, and the first combat firing by an Italian-designed attack helicopter. Three Italian soldiers died that day. Albania, Bosnia, Macedonia and Kosovo followed through the 1990s, and Iraq from July 2003. On 31 May 2005 an AB-412 flew into bad weather south-east of Nasiriyah and four men were killed.
2007–2021: thirteen years over Herat, and the fleet that wore out doing it
Afghanistan is the campaign that defined the modern arm and used it up. Task force Fenice flew out of Herat from 2007 to 2020 under ISAF and then Resolute Support, covering Herat, Badghis, Farah and Ghor — an area the size of northern Italy with about four million people. The Mangusta alone logged 13,500 flying hours there, escorting, watching and shooting, working beside the RQ-7 Shadow and American Apaches. It was the type’s making and its undoing: an airframe designed for anti-tank work on the north German plain spent thirteen years in Afghan dust and heat at weights it was never sized for. The last CH-47C, in service since 1973, flew for the final time in September 2021.
2022–2026: the Fenice, the Friuli merger, and a replacement forty years in the making
What the arm has now is a fleet in three ages at once. The NH90 is modern and complete — all sixty UH-90A delivered by 25 November 2022. The sixteen ICH-47F are new. But the AB-205 that the 34° Distaccamento "Toro" flies over the Alps came off the Agusta line in the early 1970s, and the Mangusta is still the attack helicopter. The AW249 Fenice was contracted in January 2017, flew on 12 August 2022, and the last twenty-nine of the forty-eight were only approved on 29 October 2025, for 1.2 billion euros; the first delivery is promised for 2027 and the fleet complete by 2035. Meanwhile, on 1 October 2023, the Brigata Aviazione dell’Esercito was folded into the Brigata Aeromobile "Friuli", putting every flying regiment under one brigade for the first time.
The Italian Army Aviation in numbers
Service
- Native name
- Aviazione dell’EsercitoUsually AVES. It was the Aviazione Leggera dell’Esercito — army light aviation — until 12 June 1993, when the word "leggera" was dropped after the weight limits that had justified it disappeared. Between January 2000 and November 2003 it was briefly called the Cavalleria dell’Aria, air cavalry, as a third specialty of the cavalry arm.
- Founded
- 10 May 1951The Nucleo di Aviazione Leggera was created at the artillery school at Bracciano and became the Reparto Aereo di Artiglieria that December. The army had flown before — Italian officers made the world’s first operational military flights over Libya in 1911–12 — but that lineage belongs to the air force, which became a separate service in 1923.
- Part of
- Esercito ItalianoNot an air force, and not part of one. Italy keeps four military flying organisations: the Aeronautica Militare, the navy’s Aviazione Navale, the Carabinieri’s helicopter service and the army’s AVES. The AVES is a specialty of the army, the youngest one it has.
- Headquarters
- ViterboThe Comando Aviazione dell’Esercito sits in the caserma "Generale Roberto Bazzichelli" at Viterbo, beside the Tommaso Fabbri airfield. It was formed there on 1 October 1997 out of the old inspectorate, became the Comando Cavalleria dell’Aria on 1 January 2000, and took its present name back on 1 December 2003.
- Main formations
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- Brigata Aeromobile "Friuli", Bologna — since 1 October 2023 the owner of all six flying regiments and the airmobile infantry regiment
- Brigata Sostegno AVES, Viterbo — the four maintenance and support regiments
- Centro Addestrativo AVES, Viterbo — the arm’s own training centre and the 1° Gruppo Squadroni "Auriga"
- 3° Reggimento Elicotteri Operazioni Speciali "Aldebaran", Viterbo — the special operations regiment
- Task Force ITALAIR, Naqoura — the UNIFIL helicopter unit in south Lebanon, continuously since 3 July 1979
The Brigata Aviazione dell’Esercito, raised as the Raggruppamento Cavalleria dell’Aria in 2001 and a brigade from 1 March 2006, was merged into the Friuli on 1 October 2023. Several reference works and the arm’s own veterans’ association still show the older two-brigade layout.
- Commander
- Generale di divisione Salvatore AnnigliatoIn post since 12 April 2024, when he took over from Generale di divisione Andrea Di Stasio. He came from the fourth division of the army general staff.
Strength
- Personnel
- about 6,000The figure published by the AVES veterans’ association, which describes a wholly professional force. The defence ministry does not break army personnel down by specialty in its public documents, so treat it as an order of magnitude rather than an establishment.
- Aircraft
- about 175Roughly 171 helicopters and six fixed-wing aircraft as counted in the fleet table below, plus the Shadow 200 remotely piloted systems, whose number Italy has never published. Counts differ: FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces 2026 directory totals more, because it still carries types the army no longer describes as in service. Every row in the fleet table carries its own note.
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The only attack helicopters Italy owns. Delivery of the replacement AW249 begins in 2027 at the earliest, so the Mangusta will pass thirty-five years of front-line service before it is relieved.
- Transport and utility helicopters
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- 59 NHIndustries UH-90A (NH90 TTH)
- 16 Boeing ICH-47F Chinook
- about 34 Agusta-Bell UH-205A
- about 12 Agusta-Bell UH-212 and about 6 HH-412A
- 7 Leonardo UH-169B/D delivered of 25 ordered
The AB-205, AB-212 and AB-412 are all being replaced by the UH-169D under the Light Utility Helicopter programme, with deliveries running to 2027.
- Fixed-wing
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- 3 Dornier Do 228-212
- 3 Piaggio P.180 Avanti II
The whole fixed-wing fleet, held by the 28° Gruppo Squadroni "Tucano" at Viterbo. The Dornier does parachute dropping and light transport, the Piaggio liaison and staff transport.
- Remotely piloted
- RQ-7C Shadow 200The army’s tactical system, also flown by the 28° Gruppo "Tucano", and used alongside the Mangusta over western Afghanistan. Italy has never published the number of air vehicles held; encyclopedic sources give about twelve and we cannot corroborate it.
Infrastructure
- Flying garrisons in Italy
- tenViterbo, Casarsa della Delizia, Rimini, Lamezia Terme, Bolzano, Venaria Reale, Cagliari-Elmas, Bracciano, Bologna and Orio al Serio. Only Viterbo and Casarsa are army airfields in their own right; Rimini, Lamezia, Bolzano, Elmas, Bologna and Orio al Serio are civil airports where the army holds a military sector, and Venaria Reale and Bracciano are army sites shared with other users.
- Abroad
- Naqoura, LebanonTask Force ITALAIR has flown from the UNIFIL headquarters at Naqoura without a break since 3 July 1979, which makes it the longest continuous deployment in Italian military aviation. It moved to a new heliport, the New Land site, in July 2009.
- Training
- ViterboThe Centro Addestrativo AVES runs the arm’s own conversion and tactics training. Basic helicopter flying is done by the air force: its 72° Stormo taught every Italian military helicopter pilot at Frosinone from 1955 and moved the school to Viterbo on 15 January 2026, putting it on the same airfield as the army’s aviation command.
How the Italian Army Aviation is organised
One command at Viterbo, one airmobile brigade at Bologna, six flying regiments, a support brigade and a training centre. Since 1 October 2023 every flying regiment sits under the Brigata Aeromobile "Friuli" — the separate army aviation brigade was merged into it, and a lot of reference works have not noticed.
Comando Aviazione dell’Esercito
The arm’s headquarters, in the caserma "Generale Roberto Bazzichelli". Formed on 1 October 1997 out of the old inspectorate, briefly the Comando Cavalleria dell’Aria from 1 January 2000, and restored to its present name on 1 December 2003. It owns doctrine, airworthiness, standardisation and training for every army aircraft.
Brigata Aeromobile "Friuli"
Converted from a mechanised to an airmobile brigade between 1999 and 2004, placed under the aviation command on 25 February 2022, and since 1 October 2023 the owner of every flying regiment the arm has, after the Brigata Aviazione dell’Esercito was merged into it.
1° Reggimento AVES "Antares"
Chinooks, NH90 and the whole of the army’s fixed-wing and remotely piloted inventory: the 11° Gruppo Squadroni "Ercole" and the 28° Gruppo Squadroni "Tucano".
2° Reggimento AVES "Sirio"
Combat support helicopters for the south and the islands, the Lebanon rotations and the lead regiment for the new UH-169D. It holds the 30° Gruppo "Pegaso" and the detachment at Cagliari-Elmas.
3° Reggimento Elicotteri Operazioni Speciali "Aldebaran"
The special operations helicopter regiment, established in November 2014 around the 26° Gruppo Squadroni "Giove", which had been an autonomous unit since 2002. A tier-two aviation unit working to the army special forces.
4° Reggimento AVES "Altair"
The mountain regiment, working to the alpini, with the 54° Gruppo "Cefeo" at Bolzano and the 34° Distaccamento "Toro" at Venaria Reale.
5° Reggimento AVES "Rigel"
One of the two Mangusta regiments, raised on 1 January 1976 and at Casarsa ever since. It holds the 27° Gruppo "Mercurio" and the 49° Gruppo "Capricorno".
7° Reggimento AVES "Vega"
The other Mangusta regiment, formed on 5 July 1996 and at Rimini since 23 October 1997, with the 25° Gruppo "Cigno" and the 48° Gruppo "Pavone".
66° Reggimento fanteria aeromobile "Trieste"
The airmobile infantry of the Friuli brigade. It owns no aircraft: it is what the helicopters carry.
Brigata Sostegno AVES
Formed on 31 July 2019 out of the AVES support command. It owns the four maintenance and support regiments and is the reason the arm can keep forty-year-old Hueys flying.
1° Reggimento Sostegno AVES "Idra"
Maintenance regiment, at the place where the whole arm was founded in 1951.
2° Reggimento Sostegno AVES "Orione"
Maintenance regiment for the centre and north-east.
3° Reggimento Sostegno AVES "Aquila"
Maintenance regiment for the north, in the military sector of a very busy low-cost airport.
4° Gruppo Squadroni Sostegno AVES "Scorpione"
The Viterbo support group, which carried the Chinook line through the change from the C to the F.
Centro Addestrativo Aviazione dell’Esercito
Type conversion, tactics and standardisation, with the 1° Gruppo Squadroni "Auriga" and the Reparto Corsi. Basic helicopter flying belongs to the air force.
Task Force ITALAIR
The UNIFIL helicopter unit at Naqoura, continuously deployed since 3 July 1979 — the longest unbroken deployment in Italian military aviation.
What the Italian Army Aviation 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta (Leonardo) AH-129D / AH-129C MangustaIn service | Attack and armed reconnaissance helicopter | 37 | 1990 | 5° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Rigel", 7° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Vega" | FlightGlobal’s World Air Forces 2026 directory gives 37, split in Italian sources into roughly 32 of the AH-129D operational standard and about five AH-129C used for training.
MoreThe Italian army had 32 AH-129D and 16 AH-129C on charge in December 2016, so the training fleet has clearly shrunk. |
|
| NHIndustries UH-90A (NH90 TTH)In service | Tactical transport and assault helicopter | 59 | 2008 | 1° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Antares", 5° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Rigel", 7° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Vega" | Sixty were delivered, the last on 25 November 2022; FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory lists 59 active, which implies one airframe off charge.
MoreNo reason has been published and we do not guess at one. |
|
| Boeing ICH-47F ChinookIn service | Medium transport helicopter | 16 | 2014 | 1° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Antares", 3° Reggimento Elicotteri Operazioni Speciali "Aldebaran" | Sixteen ordered. The first two were handed over on 2 October 2014 and Leonardo said deliveries would finish in 2017.
MoreFlightGlobal’s 2026 directory shows 21 CH-47C/F, which we think still counts withdrawn CH-47C airframes; the C last flew on 16 September 2021. |
|
| Agusta-Bell UH-205A (AB-205A-1)In service | Utility helicopter | 34 | 1965 | 4° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Altair" | FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory gives 34. A hundred and five were bought from 1965, so this is what is left of a fleet three generations old. | |
| Agusta-Bell UH-212 (AB-212)In service | Utility and combat support helicopter | 12 | 1983 | 2° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Sirio" | FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory gives 25 for the Bell 212 and 412 combined; Italian Wikipedia’s inventory, drawing on The Military Balance 2024, gives 13 AB-212 and 13 AB-412.
MoreFourteen AB-212 were bought from 1983, so a number in the low teens is plausible, but the split is not officially published. |
|
| Agusta-Bell HH-412A (AB-412 Grifone)In service | Combat support and rescue helicopter | 6 | 1987 | 2° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Sirio" | See the UH-212 note: FlightGlobal gives 25 for the 212 and 412 together. Twenty-four AB-412 entered service from 1987. | |
| Leonardo UH-169D and UH-169B (AW169M)In service | Light utility helicopter | 7 | 2020 | 2° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Sirio" | Two UH-169B trainers were delivered in 2020 and the first operational UH-169D on 28 April 2025; FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory shows five UH-169D plus the two trainers.
MoreTwenty-five are on order in total, with the rest to 2027. |
|
| Dornier Do 228-212In service | Light transport and parachute aircraft | 3 | 1992 | 1° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Antares" | Three in FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory. The type entered army service in 1992. | |
| Piaggio P.180 Avanti IIIn service | Liaison and staff transport aircraft | 3 | 1997 | 1° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Antares" | Three in FlightGlobal’s 2026 directory; three were bought in 1997 for command transport. | |
| AAI RQ-7C Shadow 200In service | Tactical remotely piloted aircraft | — | 2010 | 1° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Antares" | Italy has never published the number of air vehicles held. Encyclopedic sources give about twelve; we could not corroborate that against an official document and so give no figure. |
On order
| Type | Ordered | First delivery | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo AH-249A Fenice (AW249)On order | 48 | 2027 | Forty-eight for the Italian army, designated AH-249A NEES — Nuovo Elicottero da Esplorazione e Scorta — and named Fenice, phoenix.
MoreThe programme was launched with a 487 million euro contract in January 2017; the prototype first flew at Vergiate on 12 August 2022 and a second pre-production airframe on 19 March 2023. Four airframes have been built and are flying the development programme. Nineteen were under contract across the first two tranches; the remaining twenty-nine were approved on 29 October 2025 for about 1.2 billion euros. Leonardo said in March 2026 that the first delivery remains set for 2027, with the fleet complete around 2035. The aircraft is 8.3 tonnes, has a three-hour endurance, a 20 mm TM197B turret, Spike missiles, guided rockets and Stinger or Sidewinder for self-defence, and was designed from the outset to control unmanned aircraft and loitering munitions. |
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| Leonardo UH-169D (AW169M)On order | 18 | 2025 | Twenty-five ordered under the Light Utility Helicopter programme, with support and training; the first was handed over at Viterbo on 28 April 2025 and all are due by 2027, which leaves about eighteen outstanding.
MoreIt replaces the A109, AB-205, AB-206, AB-212 and AB-412 progressively. Leonardo builds the same aircraft for Austria, which has ordered 36. |
Every type the Italian Army Aviation has retired
8 types, from the Piper L-18C Cub and L-21B Super Cub to the Boeing (Elicotteri Meridionali) CH-47C Chinook. 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boeing (Elicotteri Meridionali) CH-47C Chinook | Medium transport helicopter | — | 1973–2021 | ICH-47F Chinook | The first arrived in 1973.
MoreThe AVES association and Italian Wikipedia both give 24 acquired; other accounts give more, because Elicotteri Meridionali at Frosinone built CH-47Cs for several customers and Italian army airframes were later rebuilt to CH-47C Plus standard. |
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| Agusta A109 (A109EOA and derivatives) | Light observation and anti-tank helicopter | — | 1976–2021 | UH-169D | The first arrived at Viterbo in early 1977 for liaison and transport; a later batch carried TOW anti-tank missiles, and further batches followed in observation and light transport fits. | |
| SIAI-Marchetti SM.1019 | Observation and liaison aircraft | — | 1975–1990 | — | Eighty entered service from 1975. | |
| Agusta-Bell AB-204B | Utility helicopter | — | 1963–1989 | AB-205 | Forty-eight acquired from 1963. | |
| Agusta-Bell AB-47G and AB-47J | Light observation helicopter | — | 1956–1984 | — | The experimental helicopter unit formed on the AB-47G2 in 1956; the first operational helicopter unit, the 1° Reparto Elicotteri ALE, activated in 1958 with the AB-47J. | |
| Piper L-18C Cub and L-21B Super Cub | Artillery observation aircraft | — | 1951–1980 | — | Sixty-five L-18 and thirty-seven Super Cubs delivered from 1951. | |
| Cessna O-1 Bird Dog (L-19) | Observation and liaison aircraft | — | 1963–1976 | — | In service from 1963 to 1976. | |
| Agusta-Bell AB-206 JetRanger (ERI-3) | Light observation helicopter | — | 1967– | UH-169D | A hundred and fifty were acquired from 1967, the largest single helicopter buy the arm ever made.
MoreFlightGlobal’s 2026 directory still lists 29 Bell 206 for the Italian army; the army’s own descriptions of its fleet no longer mention the type, and we could not confirm any in flying service, so we list it as former and give no current figure. |
Where the Aviazione dell’Esercito flies from — and the fields it has left
Black pins are active garrisons and detachments, hollow pins the ones the army has given up. Only Viterbo and Casarsa della Delizia are army airfields in their own right. Everywhere else — Rimini, Lamezia Terme, Bolzano, Elmas, Bologna, Orio al Serio — the army rents a military sector at a civil airport.
| Base | ICAO | Status | Runway | Units and aircraft |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bergamo — Orio al SerioLombardia | LIME | Active | 10/282,874 m12/30714 m |
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| Bologna — Borgo PanigaleEmilia-Romagna | LIPE | Active | 12/302,803 m |
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| BolzanoTrentino-Alto Adige | LIPB | Active | 01/191,740 m01R/19L709 mgrass |
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| BraccianoLazio | Active | — |
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| Cagliari-ElmasSardegna | LIEE | Active | 14/322,803 m |
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| Casarsa della Delizia — Francesco BaraccaFriuli-Venezia Giulia | LIDK | Active | — |
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| ForlìEmilia-Romagna | LIPK | Active | 12/302,410 m |
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| Lamezia Terme — MartucciCalabria | LICA | Active | 10/283,017 m |
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| Naqoura — Task Force ITALAIRSouth Lebanon | Active | — |
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| PisaToscana | LIRP | Active | 04L/22R2,993 m04R/22L2,792 m |
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| Rimini — MiramareEmilia-Romagna | LIPR | Active | 12/302,995 m |
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| Venaria Reale — Mario SantiPiemonte | LILW | Active | — |
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| Viterbo — Tommaso FabbriLazio | LIRV | Active | 04C/22C1,300 m04L/22R1,005 m04R/22L590 m |
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| Padova — Gino AllegriVeneto | LIPU | Closed 2006 | 04/221,122 m |
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| BellunoVeneto | LIDB | Closed 1996 | 05/23812 mgrass |
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| Catania-FontanarossaSicilia | LICC | Closed 1996 | 08/262,435 m |
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| Pontecagnano — SalernoCampania | LIRI | Closed 1996 | 05/231,962 m |
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| Udine-CampoformidoFriuli-Venezia Giulia | LIPD | Closed 1996 | 04/22730 mgrass |
|
No air base matches that search.
Who is stationed where in the Italian Army Aviation
Flying units by garrison, with the formation each belongs to. Italian army aviation names its regiments after stars: Antares, Sirio, Aldebaran, Altair, Rigel, Vega. The squadron groups underneath carry gods, animals and constellations.
- Comando Aviazione dell’EsercitoCOMAVES · Arm headquarters · regular
- —
- 1° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Antares"Antares · Aviation regiment · regular
- Boeing ICH-47F Chinook, NHIndustries UH-90A, Dornier Do 228-212, Piaggio P.180 Avanti II, AAI RQ-7C Shadow 200
- 3° Reggimento Elicotteri Operazioni Speciali "Aldebaran"Aldebaran · Special operations helicopter regiment · regular
- Boeing ICH-47F Chinook, NHIndustries UH-90A
- Centro Addestrativo Aviazione dell’EsercitoCAAE · Training centre · regular
- —
- Brigata Sostegno AVESSupport brigade · regular
- —
- 4° Gruppo Squadroni Sostegno AVES "Scorpione"Scorpione · Support squadrons group · regular
- —
- 72° Stormo, Aeronautica MilitareHelicopter flying training wing (air force) · attached
- Breda Nardi TH-500B, Leonardo UH-139
- 5° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Rigel"Rigel · Aviation regiment · regular
- Agusta AH-129D Mangusta, NHIndustries UH-90A
- 7° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Vega"Vega · Aviation regiment · regular
- Agusta AH-129D Mangusta, NHIndustries UH-90A
- 2° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Sirio"Sirio · Aviation regiment · regular
- Agusta-Bell UH-212, Agusta-Bell HH-412A, Leonardo UH-169D
- 30° Gruppo Squadroni AVES "Pegaso"Pegaso · Squadrons group · regular
- Agusta-Bell UH-212, Agusta-Bell HH-412A
- 4° Reggimento Aviazione dell’Esercito "Altair"Altair · Aviation regiment · regular
- Agusta-Bell UH-205A
- 54° Gruppo Squadroni AVES "Cefeo"Cefeo · Squadrons group · regular
- Agusta-Bell UH-205A
- 34° Distaccamento Permanente AVES "Toro"Toro · Permanent detachment · regular
- Agusta-Bell UH-205A
- 21° Distaccamento Permanente AVES "Orsa Maggiore"Orsa Maggiore · Permanent detachment · regular
- Agusta-Bell HH-412A
- 1° Reggimento Sostegno AVES "Idra"Idra · Aviation support regiment · regular
- —
- Nucleo di Aviazione Leggera1951–1951
- Piper L-18C Cub
- Brigata Aeromobile "Friuli"Friuli · Airmobile brigade · regular
- —
- 87° Reparto Comando e Supporti Tattici "Friuli"Command and tactical support unit · regular
- —
- 2° Reggimento Sostegno AVES "Orione"Orione · Aviation support regiment · regular
- —
- 3° Reggimento Sostegno AVES "Aquila"Aquila · Aviation support regiment · regular
- —
- 66° Reggimento fanteria aeromobile "Trieste"Trieste · Airmobile infantry regiment · regular
- —
- Distaccamento Permanente di PisaPermanent detachment · regular
- —
- Squadrone Elicotteri ITALAIRITALAIR · Deployed helicopter squadron · regular
- —
No unit matches that search.
Italian Army Aviation milestones, 1914 to today
10 May: the Nucleo di Aviazione Leggera is created at the artillery school at Bracciano, and becomes the Reparto Aereo di Artiglieria in December. Sixty-five Piper L-18 Cubs and thirty-seven Super Cubs are delivered.
The strip at Monte dell’Oro comes into use and runs the first pilot-observer course. A repair unit, the RRALE, follows there in 1953.
The law reserving military flying to the Aeronautica Militare is rewritten to cover only fixed-wing aircraft above 1,500 kg. Helicopters fall outside it, and the army immediately forms an experimental helicopter unit on the Agusta-Bell 47G2.
September: the experimental unit is dissolved and the first and second helicopter units stand up at Casarsa della Delizia and Bolzano. The 1° Reparto Elicotteri ALE is activated on the AB-47J. A flag is presented to the training centre at Viterbo on 4 May.
Forty-eight Agusta-Bell AB-204B are bought and the arm is reorganised into light aviation units, general-purpose helicopter units and divisional sections.
A hundred and five AB-205 arrive, followed by a hundred and fifty AB-206 in 1967. In a decade the Italian army becomes the country’s largest helicopter operator.
The arm adopts the light blue beret that still distinguishes it.
The first CH-47C Chinook is delivered, built under licence at Frosinone by Elicotteri Meridionali. It gives the army a heavy lift of its own, which most European armies never had.
The groupings are reorganised into raggruppamenti: the 1° at Viterbo, the 5° "Rigel" at Casarsa della Delizia on 1 January. The first of five Agusta A109 arrives for anti-tank trials, and the 4° RRALE forms at Viterbo to look after the Chinook.
3 July: the ITALAIR helicopter squadron begins work with UNIFIL at Naqoura in south Lebanon. It has never left.
11 September: the first A129 Mangusta prototype flies at Cascina Costa. It is the first attack helicopter designed and built in Western Europe from the ground up.
Mangusta deliveries begin. In April a detachment flies with the United Nations transition group in Namibia, the arm’s first deployment abroad.
13 December: thirteen helicopters sail from Livorno for Somalia as ITALHELY — three A129, six AB-205 and four CH-47C. They reach Mogadishu on 5 January 1993.
2 July: at checkpoint Pasta in Mogadishu a Mangusta destroys a captured Iveco VM 90 with a TOW missile, the type’s first shot in anger. Three Italian soldiers are killed in the day’s fighting. On 12 June the arm drops the word "leggera" and becomes the Aviazione dell’Esercito.
6 August: an ITALAIR AB-205 crashes on a night flight between UN posts in south Lebanon, killing four Italians and an Irish sergeant. On 1 October the Comando Aviazione dell’Esercito is formed at Viterbo.
15 July: army helicopters deploy to Iraq for Antica Babilonia, and on 11 August to Afghanistan for ISAF. On 1 December the command takes back the name Aviazione dell’Esercito after four years as the Cavalleria dell’Aria.
31 May: an AB-412 comes down in bad weather south-east of Nasiriyah. Massimiliano Biondini, Marco Briganti, Marco Cirillo and Giuseppe Lima are killed.
The Mangusta arrives at Herat. It will fly there under ISAF and then Resolute Support until 2020, logging 13,500 hours.
March: the first five NH90 are delivered. In September 2009 the arm qualifies its first two female pilots, one on the A129 and one on the Do 228.
October: the first ICH-47F arrives. In November the 3° Reggimento Elicotteri Operazioni Speciali "Aldebaran" is established at Viterbo.
January: a 487 million euro contract launches the AW249, the Mangusta’s replacement.
16 September: the last CH-47C flies, forty-eight years after the first one arrived.
12 August: the AW249 prototype flies at Vergiate. On 25 November the sixtieth and last UH-90A is delivered, after 31,096 Italian army flying hours on the type.
1 October: the Brigata Aviazione dell’Esercito is merged into the Brigata Aeromobile "Friuli", putting every flying regiment under one brigade.
28 April: the first UH-169D is delivered at Viterbo. On 29 October the last twenty-nine AW249 are approved for about 1.2 billion euros, completing an order of forty-eight.
15 January: the air force helicopter school moves to Viterbo. In March Leonardo confirms the first AW249 delivery for 2027; in June the aircraft makes its public flying debut at ILA Berlin.
Every campaign the Aviazione dell’Esercito has flown, 1990 to today
Eight campaigns since 1990 — Namibia, Kurdistan, Somalia, Mozambique, the Balkans, Iraq, Afghanistan and forty-five unbroken years in south Lebanon.
- Lebanon: UNIFIL, ITALAIR and Leonte 1979-present Reconnaissance along the Blue Line, liaison, transport and medical evacuation for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, and national support to the Italian contingent
- Afghanistan: ISAF and Resolute Support 2003-2021 Armed escort, armed reconnaissance, air assault, resupply and medical evacuation over Herat, Badghis, Farah and Ghor — an area the size of northern Italy with about four million people
- Iraq: Antica Babilonia 2003-2006 Transport, liaison, medical evacuation and armed escort for the Italian contingent in southern Iraq
- Kosovo: Joint Guardian and KFOR 1999-2010 Transport, liaison, observation and medical evacuation for the Italian brigade in the western sector of KFOR
- Bosnia and Herzegovina: IFOR, SFOR and Althea 1995-2010 Transport, liaison, observation and medical evacuation for the Italian contingent under NATO and then European Union command
Italian Army Aviation news from Afterburner
Everything MiGFlug’s magazine has published on the Italian Army Aviation and the aircraft it flies. This list refreshes itself — new Afterburner stories appear here automatically.
Everything people ask about the Italian Army Aviation
What is the Aviazione dell’Esercito?
What helicopters does the Italian Army fly?
What is the AW129 Mangusta and why does it matter?
Has the Mangusta ever been used in combat?
What is replacing the Mangusta, and when?
Why has it taken so long to replace the Mangusta?
Where is the Italian Army Aviation based?
Why are the regiments named after stars?
What is ITALAIR?
Has the Italian Army Aviation lost people on operations?
Is the Italian Army Aviation the same as the Italian Air Force?
Who trains Italian Army helicopter pilots?
Read the aircraft the Italian Army Aviation flew
Every type with a page in the Book of Beasts, in service first, then by the year it left the fleet.
Every fact, checked
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: Reparti AVESunit list, bases and parent formations
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: La storia dell’AVESfoundation, aircraft introductions and reorganisations, 1951 to 2014
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: AVES oggipersonnel figure and the types the arm describes as in service
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: Le missioni internazionali dell’Aviazione dell’Esercitoevery deployment abroad with dates and the units that flew it
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: Somalia — Operazione IbisITALHELY composition, dates and aircraft numbers
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: A-129 Mangusta, 13.500 ore di volo in AfghanistanMangusta flying hours, units and area of responsibility at Herat
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: Dal vecchio al nuovo CH-47CH-47C service 1973 to its last flight on 16 September 2021
- Associazione Nazionale Aviazione Esercito: UNIFIL ricorda i caduti nell’incidente di un elicottero Italair del 1997the 6 August 1997 crash: date, circumstances and the five names
- Ministero della Difesa: Libano, Task Force Italair da 45 anni in volo per la paceITALAIR anniversary and role; the page timed out on our last attempt and is cited from its title and the search result
- Aviation Report: COMAVES, il Comando Aviazione dell’Esercitocommand structure, staff organisation and formation dates
- Ares Difesa: Il Comando Aviazione dell’Esercitodetailed COMAVES organisation, key dates and the ITALAIR line
- Aviation Report: in volo con gli elicotteri del 2° Reggimento AVES "Sirio"2° Reggimento formation, the Pontecagnano and Catania merger, aircraft and roles
- AB Aviation Reporter: cambio al vertice dell’Aviazione dell’Esercitocommand handover of 12 April 2024
- AvioHub: una missione con il 34° Distaccamento Permanente "Toro"the Venaria Reale detachment, its history, roles and the UH-169 replacement
- Analisi Difesa: consegnato all’Aviazione dell’Esercito il primo elicottero UH-169D LUH25 ordered, first delivery 28 April 2025, deliveries to 2027, types replaced
- Airholic: il 2° Reggimento AVES "Sirio" al centro del progetto LUHUH-169B and UH-169D standards and the Austrian AW169M order
- Infodifesa: Difesa approva l’acquisto di 29 elicotteri d’attacco Leonardo AW249 per 1,2 miliardi di euro29 October 2025 approval, tranche history, 48 total, first deliveries 2027
- Ares Difesa: ad ILA 2026 l’elicottero da combattimento AW249 di Leonardofour airframes, AH-249A NEES designation, capabilities, June 2026 public debut
- Ares Difesa: gli ultimi dettagli sul nuovo elicottero AH-249engines, weights, armament and the 45-by-2035 delivery profile
- FlightGlobal: AW249 stays on track for first delivery to Italian army in 2027March 2026 schedule confirmation; the article body is behind a paywall
- Leonardo: Italian Army’s UH-90A helicopter fleet handover complete60 delivered by 25 November 2022 and 31,096 Italian army flying hours
- Leonardo: Italian Army ICH-47F delivery16 ordered, first two delivered 2 October 2014, 1° Reggimento "Antares"
- FlightGlobal World Air Forces 2026Italian army inventory; several rows appear to carry over types the army no longer lists as in service, and we say so in the notes
- Esercito Italiano: conclusa l’esercitazione MANGUSTA 2025the 2025 exercise; the army website could not be fetched during research because of a certificate chain problem and this is cited from its title
- Helis.com: LIDK Aeroporto Militare Francesco BaraccaCasarsa coordinates and elevation; cross-check only
- OurAirports open datacoordinates, elevations, ICAO codes and runway dimensions. AIP Italia was the intended source but aim.enav.it and a2c.enav.it were unreachable from this session, so every figure here comes from OurAirports and is marked accordingly
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: Airwolfhound from Hertfordshire, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Italian Army / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5) · Photo: Julian Herzog / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) · Photo: ISAF Headquarters Public Affairs Office / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) · Photo: Aldo Bidini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Matti Blume / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Ronnie Robertson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Malcolm Cohens-Ashley / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain) · Photo: Giulio1996Cordignano / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Ra Boe / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Arild Vågen / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Threecharlie / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Photo: Bahnfrend / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Photo: Piergiuliano Chesi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0) · Photo: Gaspar Torriero from Italy / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Photo: Alan Wilson from Peterborough, Cambs, UK / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)