Italy’s membership to NATO in 1949 brought immediate benefits for reconstruction, and a little over a decade after the disastrous outcome of World War II, the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare) was completely regenerated and seamlessly integrated into the Atlantic Alliance thanks to the assistance programmes initiated by the United States.
These programmes provided the opportunity to renew and modernise the flight lines. In these years, with the introduction of the first De Havilland DH-100 Vampire aircraft of British design and produced under license by the national industry, there was a significant shift from propellers to jet engines. However, the ‘supersonic’ transformation of the Armed Force would occur in the 1960s when the F-104 ‘Starfighter’ interceptor fighter became the flagship of the Italian Air Force and would dominate Italian skies for 40 years.
The renewal process also extended to Flight Schools, with the introduction of the Italian trainer Aermacchi MB-326 and the adoption of the ‘jet ab initio’ training method. The high level of excellence achieved by the Italian Air Force personnel was showcased to the public through airshows held in Italy and abroad. The Italian tradition of collective aerial aerobatics was reaffirmed with the establishment of the National Aerobatic Team in Rivolto in 1961, better known as the 313th Acrobatic Training Group the Frecce Tricolori, which was destined to represent the Italian Air Force and Italy in airshows across the nation and around the world.
In the years that followed, as the field of Electronic Warfare began to take shape, the MRCA-75 project (Multi-Role Combat Aircraft – a multi-role combat aircraft that would be introduced into service in 1975), better known as the Tornado, was launched. The first aircraft was delivered to the Italian Air Force on 4th March 1981, at Pratica di Mare.
Simultaneously, the development of the new lightweight fighter-bomber AMX commenced. In the same year, the first Aermacchi MB-339A aircraft were delivered, replacing the G-91s of the Frecce Tricolori in the PAN (National Aerobatic Team) configuration, without wingtip fuel tanks.
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