The Italian Armed Forces (Italian: Forze armate italiane, pronounced [ˈfɔrtse arˈmaːte itaˈljaːne]) encompass the Italian Army, the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force. A fourth branch of the armed forces, known as the Carabinieri, take on the role as the nation's military police and are also involved in missions and operations abroad as a combat force. Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the Guardia di Finanza has military status and is organized along military lines.[5] These five forces comprise a total of 340,885 men and women with the official status of active military personnel, of which 167,057 are in the Army, Navy and Air Force.[2][1][6][7] The President of the Italian Republic heads the armed forces as the President of the High Council of Defence established by article 87 of the Constitution of Italy. According to article 78, the Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the powers to lead the war in the Government.
The air force of Italy was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923, by King Vittorio Emanuele III as the Regia Aeronautica (which equates to "Royal Air Force"). During the 1930s, it was involved in its first military operations in Ethiopia in 1935, and later in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939. Eventually, Italy entered World War II alongside Germany. After the armistice of 8 September 1943, Italy was divided into two sides, and the same fate befell the Regia Aeronautica. The Air Force was split into the Italian Co-Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies, and the pro-Axis Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana in the north until the end of the war. When Italy was made a republic by referendum, the air force was given its current name Aeronautica Militare.
The Arma dei Carabinieri is the gendarmerie and military police of Italy. The corps was instituted in 1814 by King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy with the aim of providing the Kingdom of Sardinia with a police corps; it is therefore older than Italy itself. The new force was divided into divisions on the scale of one division for each province of Italy. The divisions were further divided into companies and subdivided into lieutenancies, which commanded and coordinated the local police stations and were distributed throughout the national territory in direct contact with the public. The Italian unification saw the number of divisions increased, and in 1861 the Carabinieri were appointed the "First Force" of the new national military organization. In recent years Carabinieri became the fourth branch of Italian Armed Forces. Primarily they carry out law enforcement, military policing duties and peacekeeping mission abroad, such as Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. At the Sea Islands Conference of the G8 in 2004, the Carabinieri were given the mandate to establish a Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units (CoESPU) to spearhead the development of training and doctrinal standards for civilian police units attached to international peacekeeping missions.[11]
Italy did take part in the 1982 Multinational Force in Lebanon along with US, French and British troops. Italy also participated in the 1990–91 Gulf War, with the deployment of eight Panavia Tornado IDS bomber jets; Italian Army troops were subsequently deployed to assist Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq following the conflict.
As part of Operation Enduring Freedom, Italy contributed to the international operation in Afghanistan. Italian forces have contributed to ISAF, the NATO force in Afghanistan, and to the Provincial reconstruction team. Italy has sent 3,800 troops, including one infantry company from the 2nd Alpini Regiment tasked to protect the ISAF HQ, one engineer company, one NBC platoon, one logistic unit, as well as liaison and staff elements integrated into the operation chain of command. Italian forces also command a multinational engineer task force and have deployed a platoon of Carabinieri military police.
The Italian Army did not take part in combat operations of the 2003 Iraq War, dispatching troops only when major combat operations were declared over by the U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush. Subsequently, Italian troops arrived in the late summer of 2003, and began patrolling Nasiriyah and the surrounding area. Italian participation in the military operations in Iraq was concluded by the end of 2006, with full withdrawal of Italian military personnel except for a small group of about 30 soldiers engaged in providing security for the Italian embassy in Baghdad. Italy played a major role in the 2004-2011 NATO Training Mission to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions.
Operations
Current operations of the Italian Armed Forces highlighted on a map of Afro-Eurasia
Since the second post-war the Italian armed force has become more and more engaged in international peace support operations, mainly under the auspices of the United Nations. The Italian armed forces are currently participating in 26 missions.[1]
^ abc"Documento Programmatico Pluriennale per la Difesa per il triennio 2014-16" (PDF) (in Italian). Italian Ministry of Defence. 13 June 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
^ abcd"Documento programmatico pluriennale per la Difesa per il triennio 2021-2023 - Doc. CCXXXIV, n. 4" (PDF). Ministry of Defence (Italy). 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
^ abTian, Nan; Fleurant, Aude; Kuimova, Alexandra; Wezeman, Pieter D.; Wezeman, Siemon T. (24 April 2022). "Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2021" (PDF). Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. from the original on 25 April 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
^The Guardia di Finanza also operates a large fleet of ships, aircraft and helicopters, enabling it to patrol Italy's waters and to eventually participate in warfare scenarios
^Lioe, Kim Eduard (25 November 2010). Armed Forces in Law Enforcement Operations? - The German and European Perspective. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN9783642154348. Retrieved 28 March 2018 – via Google Books.
^Schmitt, M. N.; Arimatsu, Louise; McCormack, Tim (5 August 2011). Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law - 2010. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN9789067048118. Retrieved 28 March 2018 – via Google Books.
^"Organigramma". www.difesa.it. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^"Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa - Difesa.it". www.difesa.it. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^"Il Comandante del Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze". www.difesa.it. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^G-8 Action Plan: Expanding global capability for peace support operations 2010-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Carabinieri, June 2004.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military of Italy.
Official Site of Italian Ministry of Defense (in Italian and English)
Official Site of Italian Army (in Italian and English)
Official Site of Italian Navy (in Italian and English)
Official Site of Italian Air Force (in Italian)
Official Site of Carabinieri (in Italian)
Official Site of Guardia di Finanza (in Italian)
January 24, 2023
italian, armed, forces, italian, forze, armate, italiane, pronounced, ˈfɔrtse, arˈmaːte, itaˈljaːne, encompass, italian, army, italian, navy, italian, force, fourth, branch, armed, forces, known, carabinieri, take, role, nation, military, police, also, involve. The Italian Armed Forces Italian Forze armate italiane pronounced ˈfɔrtse arˈmaːte itaˈljaːne encompass the Italian Army the Italian Navy and the Italian Air Force A fourth branch of the armed forces known as the Carabinieri take on the role as the nation s military police and are also involved in missions and operations abroad as a combat force Despite not being a branch of the armed forces the Guardia di Finanza has military status and is organized along military lines 5 These five forces comprise a total of 340 885 men and women with the official status of active military personnel of which 167 057 are in the Army Navy and Air Force 2 1 6 7 The President of the Italian Republic heads the armed forces as the President of the High Council of Defence established by article 87 of the Constitution of Italy According to article 78 the Parliament has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the powers to lead the war in the Government Italian Armed ForcesForze armate italiane FF AA Coat of arms of the Italian Defence StaffFounded4 May 1861Service branchesItalian Army Italian Navy Italian Air Force CarabinieriHeadquartersRome 1 LeadershipPresident of the RepublicSergio MattarellaPrime MinisterGiorgia MeloniMinister of DefenceGuido CrosettoChief of the Defence StaffAdmiral Giuseppe Cavo DragonePersonnelActive personnel340 885 2021 2 Army 97 087 Navy 29 511 Air Force 40 459 Paramilitary 173 828 Carabinieri Guardia di FinanzaReserve personnel18 300 2019 3 ExpendituresBudgetUS 32 0 billion 2021 SIPRI ranked 11th 4 Percent of GDP1 5 2021 4 IndustryDomestic suppliersAvioBerettaFincantieriFiocchi MunizioniIntermarineIvecoLeonardoPiaggio AerospaceForeign suppliers European Union United StatesAnnual imports 678 million 2021 2 Annual exports 4 662 billion 2021 2 Related articlesHistoryMilitary history of ItalyRegio EsercitoRegia MarinaRegia AeronauticaRanksArmy ranksNavy ranksAir Force ranksCarabinieri Ranks Contents 1 Organization 2 The four branches of Italian Armed Forces 2 1 Esercito Italiano 2 2 Marina Militare 2 3 Aeronautica Militare 2 4 Carabinieri 3 International stance 3 1 Operations 4 Gallery 5 See also 6 Citations 7 References 8 External linksOrganization EditThe office of the Chief of Defence is organised as follows 8 Position Italian title Rank IncumbentChief of the Defence Staff Il Capo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa Ammiraglio Giuseppe Cavo DragoneDeputy Chief of the Defence Staff Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa Generale di Corpo d Armata Carmine Masiello 9 Chief of Joint Operations Il Comandante del Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze Generale di corpo d armata con incarichi speciali Francesco Paolo Figliuolo 10 The four branches of Italian Armed Forces EditEsercito Italiano Edit Main article Italian Army The ground force of Italy the Regio Esercito dates back to the unification of Italy in the 1850s and 1860s It fought in colonial engagements in China during the Boxer Rebellion against the Ottoman Empire in Libya 1911 1912 on the Alps against the Austro Hungarian Empire during World War I in Abyssinia during the Interwar period and in World War II in Albania Greece North Africa and Russia as well as in the Italian Civil War During the Cold War the Army prepared itself to defend against a Warsaw Pact invasion from the east Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union it has seen extensive peacekeeping service in Lebanon Afghanistan and Iraq On 29 July 2004 it became a professional all volunteer force when conscription was finally ended Marina Militare Edit Main article Italian Navy The navy of Italy was created in 1861 following the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy as the Regia Marina The new navy s baptism of fire came during the Third Italian War of Independence against the Austrian Empire During the First World War it spent its major efforts in the Adriatic Sea fighting the Austro Hungarian Navy In the Second World War it engaged the Royal Navy in a two and a half year struggle for the control of the Mediterranean Sea After the war the new Marina Militare being a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO has taken part in many coalition peacekeeping operations It is a blue water navy The Guardia Costiera Coast Guard is a component of the navy Aeronautica Militare Edit Main article Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoons of the Italian Air Force The air force of Italy was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by King Vittorio Emanuele III as the Regia Aeronautica which equates to Royal Air Force During the 1930s it was involved in its first military operations in Ethiopia in 1935 and later in the Spanish Civil War between 1936 and 1939 Eventually Italy entered World War II alongside Germany After the armistice of 8 September 1943 Italy was divided into two sides and the same fate befell the Regia Aeronautica The Air Force was split into the Italian Co Belligerent Air Force in the south aligned with the Allies and the pro Axis Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana in the north until the end of the war When Italy was made a republic by referendum the air force was given its current name Aeronautica Militare Carabinieri Edit Main article Carabinieri The Arma dei Carabinieri is the gendarmerie and military police of Italy The corps was instituted in 1814 by King Victor Emmanuel I of Savoy with the aim of providing the Kingdom of Sardinia with a police corps it is therefore older than Italy itself The new force was divided into divisions on the scale of one division for each province of Italy The divisions were further divided into companies and subdivided into lieutenancies which commanded and coordinated the local police stations and were distributed throughout the national territory in direct contact with the public The Italian unification saw the number of divisions increased and in 1861 the Carabinieri were appointed the First Force of the new national military organization In recent years Carabinieri became the fourth branch of Italian Armed Forces Primarily they carry out law enforcement military policing duties and peacekeeping mission abroad such as Kosovo Afghanistan and Iraq At the Sea Islands Conference of the G8 in 2004 the Carabinieri were given the mandate to establish a Center of Excellence for Stability Police Units CoESPU to spearhead the development of training and doctrinal standards for civilian police units attached to international peacekeeping missions 11 International stance Edit Italian soldiers of the Mechanized Brigade Sassari in Afghanistan in 2012 Italy has joined in many UN NATO and EU operations as well as with assistance to Russia and the other CIS nations Middle East peace process peacekeeping and combating the illegal drug trade human trafficking piracy and terrorism Italy did take part in the 1982 Multinational Force in Lebanon along with US French and British troops Italy also participated in the 1990 91 Gulf War with the deployment of eight Panavia Tornado IDS bomber jets Italian Army troops were subsequently deployed to assist Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq following the conflict As part of Operation Enduring Freedom Italy contributed to the international operation in Afghanistan Italian forces have contributed to ISAF the NATO force in Afghanistan and to the Provincial reconstruction team Italy has sent 3 800 troops including one infantry company from the 2nd Alpini Regiment tasked to protect the ISAF HQ one engineer company one NBC platoon one logistic unit as well as liaison and staff elements integrated into the operation chain of command Italian forces also command a multinational engineer task force and have deployed a platoon of Carabinieri military police The Italian Army did not take part in combat operations of the 2003 Iraq War dispatching troops only when major combat operations were declared over by the U S President George W Bush Subsequently Italian troops arrived in the late summer of 2003 and began patrolling Nasiriyah and the surrounding area Italian participation in the military operations in Iraq was concluded by the end of 2006 with full withdrawal of Italian military personnel except for a small group of about 30 soldiers engaged in providing security for the Italian embassy in Baghdad Italy played a major role in the 2004 2011 NATO Training Mission to assist in the development of Iraqi security forces training structures and institutions Operations Edit Current operations of the Italian Armed Forces highlighted on a map of Afro Eurasia KFOR MSU Carabinieri in front of the Ibar Bridge in Mitrovica Kosovo 2019 Since the second post war the Italian armed force has become more and more engaged in international peace support operations mainly under the auspices of the United Nations The Italian armed forces are currently participating in 26 missions 1 United Nations UNMOGIP since 1951 India and Pakistan UNTSO since 1958 Israel Egypt Syria and Lebanon UNIFIL since 1978 Lebanon MINURSO since 1991 Western Sahara UNFICYP since 2005 Cyprus MINUSMA since 2013 Mali European Union EUFOR Althea since 2004 Bosnia and Herzegovina EUBAM Rafah since 2005 Gaza Egypt border EUPOL Afghanistan since 2007 Afghanistan EUNAVFOR Atalanta since 2008 Gulf of Aden EUMM Georgia since 2008 Georgia South Ossetia and Abkhazia EULEX Kosovo since 2008 Kosovo EUTM Somalia since 2010 Somalia EUCAP Nestor since 2012 Indian Ocean EUCAP Sahel Niger since 2012 Niger EUBAM Libya since 2013 Libya EUTM Mali since 2013 Mali EUFOR RCA since 2014 Central African Republic NATO KFOR since 1999 Kosovo ISAF 2001 2021 Afghanistan Operation Active Endeavour since 2001 Mediterranean Sea Operation Ocean Shield since 2009 Gulf of Aden Multilateral missions TIPH 2 since 1997 West Bank Operation Cyrene since 2011 Libya MIADIT Somalia since 2013 Somalia and Djibouti MIADIT Palestine since 2014 West Bank Gallery Edit Italian soldier with a Beretta ARX160 assault rifle The Cavour aircraft carrier Freccia Infantry fighting vehicle Freccia Heavy Mortar Carrier Italian Navy F 35B Lightning Destroyer Caio Duilio and Frigate Carlo Bergamini Iveco LMV convoy A AW139 helicopter Soldiers of the Alpine Brigade Taurinense 32nd Engineer Regiment Soldiers of the Alpini Battalion Feltre 7th Alpini Regiment of the Italian Army The Salvatore Todaro S 526 submarine See also EditList of Italian service weapons National Institute for the Honour Guard of the Royal Tombs of the Pantheon Uniforms of the Italian Armed Forces List of military equipment of ItalyCitations Edit a b c Documento Programmatico Pluriennale per la Difesa per il triennio 2014 16 PDF in Italian Italian Ministry of Defence 13 June 2014 Retrieved 8 January 2015 a b c d Documento programmatico pluriennale per la Difesa per il triennio 2021 2023 Doc CCXXXIV n 4 PDF Ministry of Defence Italy 2021 Retrieved 6 June 2022 IISS 2020 p 118 a b Tian Nan Fleurant Aude Kuimova Alexandra Wezeman Pieter D Wezeman Siemon T 24 April 2022 Trends in World Military Expenditure 2021 PDF Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Archived from the original on 25 April 2022 Retrieved 25 April 2022 The Guardia di Finanza also operates a large fleet of ships aircraft and helicopters enabling it to patrol Italy s waters and to eventually participate in warfare scenarios Lioe Kim Eduard 25 November 2010 Armed Forces in Law Enforcement Operations The German and European Perspective Springer Science amp Business Media ISBN 9783642154348 Retrieved 28 March 2018 via Google Books Schmitt M N Arimatsu Louise McCormack Tim 5 August 2011 Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law 2010 Springer Science amp Business Media ISBN 9789067048118 Retrieved 28 March 2018 via Google Books Organigramma www difesa it Retrieved 28 March 2018 Sottocapo di Stato Maggiore della Difesa Difesa it www difesa it Retrieved 28 March 2018 Il Comandante del Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze www difesa it Retrieved 28 March 2018 G 8 Action Plan Expanding global capability for peace support operations Archived 2010 10 09 at the Wayback Machine Carabinieri June 2004 References EditIISS 2020 The Military Balance 2020 Routledge ISBN 978 0367466398 External links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Military of Italy Official Site of Italian Ministry of Defense in Italian and English Official Site of Italian Army in Italian and English Official Site of Italian Navy in Italian and English Official Site of Italian Air Force in Italian Official Site of Carabinieri in Italian Official Site of Guardia di Finanza in Italian Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Italian Armed Forces amp oldid 1117683291, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
