In 2005, with the suspension of compulsory military service, an era came to a close, and in the following years, the Italian Air Force completed the transition process towards becoming a force composed entirely of professionals.
With the new millennium, we also witnessed the retirement of the F-104 Starfighter, which had operated alongside the Tornado ADV and later with the F-16 ADF, making way for the Eurofighter F-2000 ‘Typhoon.’ In 2011, a new crisis erupted in the Mediterranean, in Libya, and once again, the Italian Air Force actively participated in the aerial campaign, which materialised in the operations ‘Odyssey Dawn’ and ‘Unified Protector’.
The extensive process of computerisation that is affecting the entire world also concerns the Italian Air Force, which quickly adapts through the transformation of training programmes in its institutes and flight schools. This change was necessary with the introduction of a 5th generation aircraft, the Lockheed F-35, equipped with a wide range of capabilities that give the aircraft exceptional potential. The balance of air power in effect is no longer swung towards superiority in kinetic terms or as measured by fire power but rather superiority in information technology. Technology, training, flexibility, interoperability and projection of power are the key elements enabling the Air Force to demonstrate its efficiency as it takes part in missions in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Djibouti, Lebanon and in the Air Policing activities carried out under the auspices of the Atlantic Alliance. There is also the unwavering commitment to protect the national air space through partecipation in the Mare Nostrum and Mare Sicuro operations and in support of populations struck by natural disasters.
In 2020, the severe health emergency caused by the global coronavirus pandemic, Covid-19, once again saw the Italian Air Force at the forefront, assisting the population by helping to keep hospitals operational, conduct vaccination campaigns, and ensure the airborne transport of patients in biocontainment.
For further information, visit: www.amazon.it/aeronauticamilitare
