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EspañolITALIAN ARMY
Soldiers of the 33rd Field Artillery Regiment "Acqui" on parade
The 'Italian Army' (Esercito Italiano) is the ground defense force of the Italian Republic. It recently (July 29th, 2004) became a professional all-volunteer force of 115,000 active duty personnel.
The headquarters of the Army General Staff are in Rome, opposite the Presidential Palace.
| Contents |
| Command structure |
| Operational forces |
| Support units |
| Effective operational capability |
| Equipment |
| Weapons |
| Combat vehicles |
| Artillery |
| Aircraft inventory |
| Operations |
| External links |
Command structure
The Armed Forces of Italy are under the command of the Italian Supreme Defense Council, presided over by the President of the Italian Republic. The Italian Army is commanded by the SME or “Stato Maggiore dell’Esercito” (Chief of the Army General Staff) in Rome.
The Chief of staff has direct control of all support and logistics operations in Italy (i.e. military clinics, repair facilities, acquisitions,…), but no direct control of the operational forces, which are all assigned to and commanded by COMFOTER: “Comando delle Forze Operative Terrestri” (Command of Operational Land Forces).
Operational forces
COMFOTER has direct command on a NATO rapid reaction Corps Command (NRDC-IT), of four support brigades (Artillery, Air Defense, Logistics, Engineering), as well as command of the Army Aviation, the Army Communication and Transmission command and of three commands called COMFOD 1, COMFOD 2 and COMALP, which between them command the actual 11 Italian combat Brigades. The attached units are in detail:
Structure of the Italian Army (click to enlarge).
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Coat of Arms of the NRDC-IT
The NRDC or "NATO Rapid Deployable Corps" is located in Solbiate Olona (Lombardy) and has a whole brigade at its dependency, formed by:
★ Signal Bde HQ in Solbiate Olona (Lombardy)
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Coat of Arms of the Comando Truppe Alpin3
Alpini from the Taurinense Brigade.
“Comando Truppe Alpine” or COMALP has command over the professional Mountain Troops of the Italian Army, called "Alpines", in Italian ''Alpini''. It is located in Bolzano and consist of the following units:
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Coat of Arms of the Alpini Formation Centre
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Coat of Arms of the 4th Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 6th Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the Tridentina Alpini Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the Taurinense Alpini Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 1° “Nizza” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 2nd Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 3rd Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 9th Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 1st Mountain Artillery Regiment
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★ 32° Alpini Engineer Regiment in Turin (Piedmont)
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Coat of Arms of the Julia Alpini Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 5th Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 7th Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 8th Alpini Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 3rd Mountain Artillery Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 2nd Alpini Engineer Regiment
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★ 1° Hungarian Light Infantry Battalion (for out of area NATO peacekeeping deployment)
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★ 10° Slovenian Motorised Infantry Battalion (for out of area NATO peacekeeping deployment)
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Coat of Arms of the 1st Defence Command
“Comando Forze di Difesa 1” or COMFOD 1 resides in the north-eastern city of Vittorio Veneto (Veneto) and commands the most specialized brigades of the Italian Army:
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Coat of Arms of the Mantova Division
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Coat of Arms of the Ariete Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 4° Tank Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 32° Tank Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 132° Tank Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 3° Bersaglieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 11° Bersaglieri Regiment
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★ 132° Self Propelled Artillery Rgt. “Ariete” in Maniago (Friuli-Venezia Giulia) with 32 M109/L, which will be replaced within 2008 by the PzH 2000
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★ 10° Engineer Regiment in Cremona (Lombardy)
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Coat of Arms of the Folgore Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 9° Parachutist Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 183° Parachutist Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 186° Parachutist Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 187° Parachutist Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the Friuli Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 3° “Savoia” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 66° Infantry Regiment
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★ 36 A129 "Mangusta" Attack Helicopters
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★ 12 AB 109EOA "Hirundo" Observation helicopters
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★ 24 AB 206C/1 Battlefield Surveillance helicopter
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★ 24 A129 "Mangusta" Attack Helicopters
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★ 12 AB 109EOA "Hirundo" Observation helicopters
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★ 24 AB 412 Support helicopters
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Coat of Arms of the Pozzuolo del Friuli Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 2° “Piemonte” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 4° “Genova” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 5° “Lancieri di Novara” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the Lagunari Regiment
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★ Horse Artillery Regiment "Volòire" in Milan (Lombardy) with 24 FH-70
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★ 3° Engineer Regiment in Udine (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
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Coat of Arms of the 2nd Defence Command
“Comando Forze di Difesa 2” or COMFOD 2 resides in S. Giorgio a Cremano near Naples and commands 5 brigades. Three of those, the brigades “Aosta”, “Pinerolo” and “Granatieri di Sardegna” are made up of one year volunteers and therefore intended for use mainly on Italian soil. The COMFOD 2 commands:
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Coat of Arms of the Acqui Division
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Coat of Arms of the Garibaldi Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 131° Tank Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 19° “Cavalleggeri Guide” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 1° Bersaglieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 8° Bersaglieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 8° Artillery Regiment
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Soldiers of the 8° Cavalry Regiment “Lancieri di Montebello”
Soldiers of the Sassari Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the Granatieri Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 1° Granatieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 2° Granatieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 8° Cavalry Regiment
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★ 33° Self propelled Artillery Regiment “Acqui” in l'Aquila (Abruzzi) with 24 M109/L
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Coat of Arms of the Pinerolo Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 31° Tank Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 7° Bersaglieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 9° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 82° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the Aosta Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 6° “Lancieri d´Aosta” Cavalry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 6° Bersaglieri Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 5° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 62° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the Sassari Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 151° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 152° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the COTIE
“Comando Trasmissioni e ed Informazioni dell’Esercito” or CoTIE is the Italian Army’s Signal and Information Command, it resides in Anzio (Lazio) and consists of the following units:
★ Signal Brigade for Maneuver Support
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Coat of Arms of the 2nd Alpini Signals Regiment
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★ "Gardena"
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★ "Pordoi"
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★ "Rolle"
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★ "Predil"
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★ "Leonessa"
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★ "Tonale"
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★ 232° Signal Regiment in Avellino (Campania) with the Battalion:
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★ "Fadalto".
★ Signal Brigade for National Support
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★ "Lanciano"
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★ "Abetone"
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★ "Gennargentu".
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★ "Valles"
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★ "Frejus".
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★ "Mongibello"
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★ "Vulture".
★ ISTAR & Electronic Warfare Brigade
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★ 13° ISTAR Battalion “Aquileia” in Anzio (Lazio)
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Coat of Arms of the Aves
The Army Aviation Command resides in Viterbo and includes the non combat flying formations of the Army (i.e. Transport Planes, support helicopters,…)
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★ 1° Squadron “Auriga” in Viterbo with 6 A129, 6 AB205, 6 AB 212, 6 AB412 and 47 AB 206
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★ 2° Squadron “Sestante”
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★ 21° Squadron “Orsa Maggiore” in Elmas (Cagliari) with 12 AB 205
★ Army Aviation Brigade
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★ 28° Army Aviation Squadron “Tucano” in Viterbo (Lazio) with 3 Dornier DO-228 and 3 Piaggio P-180
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★ ITALAIR Squadron in Naqoura (Lebanon) with 4 AB 205
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Coat of Arms of the Air Defense Brigade
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★ 121° Air Defense Regiment “Ravenna” in Bologna with Skyguard "Aspide", SIDAM 25 and Stinger
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Coat of Arms of the Field Artillery Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the 2nd Mountain Artillery Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the 28° Infantry Regiment
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Coat of Arms of the Engineering Brigade
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Coat of Arms of the Logistics Brigade
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★ 10° Maneuver Logistics Regiment in Persano (Campania)
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Coat of Arms of the 24th Alpini Maneuver Logistics Regiment
★ 1° Transport Regiment
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★ 8° Transport Regiment in Orzano
★ 10° Transport Regiment in Bari (Apulia)
Support units
The following support units are not under the command of COMFOTER and their role is exclusively the support of units on Italian soil. They are commanded by various sub staffs of the SME- Army General Staff in Rome.
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★ other Training units:
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Coat of Arms of the 1° Tank Regiment
★ Technical Support and Logistics units:
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★ Military Region North
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★ Military Region South
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★ Others
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★ 8° Transport Regiment “Casilina”
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Coat of Arms of the 57° Infantry Battalion
Effective operational capability
All brigades - with the exception of the home service Brigades “Aosta”, “Pinerolo” and “Granatieri di Sardegna” may be deployed outside Italy and are often involved in either war-fighting or peace-keeping operations on foreign soil. The three home service brigades have a role of 'presence and surveillance' of key Italian institutions, e.g. the “Granatieri di Sardegna” Brigade guards the capital city Rome and the Presidential Palace. They are not destined for extra-territorial missions and members expect to remain in Italy throughout their service years.
The remaining eight brigades are combat brigades, numbering between 3-7,000 troops each. These units are the pride of the Italian Army and are a front-line well-equipped force capable of dealing with most emergency situations. They are characterised by quality, efficiency, motivation and mobility.
In total numbers the Italian Army can field about 85,000 ground troops out of a total Army strength of 112,000 men and women. But although most units are designated as regiments they consist of one expanded Logistics, Support and Command company and a combat battalion, which- in the case of the infantry (Alpini, Bersaglieri, Granatieri, Lagunari, Fanti) units- consists of:
: 3 Infantry Companies
: 1 Mortar Company
: 1 Antitank Company
The naming has historical reasons. Most regiments are deployed singularly, especially the support brigades' regiments as adjuncts to combat units, formed for the task ahead.
Equipment
Weapons
★ Beretta AR70/90 - 5.56mm assault rifle - also in SC version
★ Beretta Model 12 - 9 mm Luger Parabellum Submachine gun
★ Beretta 92FS - 9 x 19 mm NATO pistol
★ Minimi - 5.56 mm light machine gun
★ MG3 - 7.62mm machine gun - also in 12.7mm version
★ Franchi SPAS 15 - shotgun
★ Sako TGR-42 - .338 Lapua sniper rifle
★ Panzerfaust 3 — Rocket propelled grenade
★ Anti tank missile Milan 2
★ Anti tank missile Spike
★ Anti tank missile TOW
★ FIM-92 Stinger - MANPADS
★ 60mm Mortar
Combat vehicles
Ariete
Freccia
★ Ariete - Main Battle Tanks ( 200 )
★ Leopard 1 - Main Battle Tanks ( 120 )
★ Centauro - Armour fire Support Vehicle (AFSV) ( 400 purchased, 300 in service )
★ Dardo - Infantry fighting vehicle ( 200 )
★ Freccia - Infantry fighting vehicle (249 ordered, delivery in 2008)
★ VCC - Armoured personnel carrier (Highly modified M113) ( 1638 purchased, actual number unknown )
★ Puma 6x6 - wheeled armoured personnel carrier ( 360 )
★ Puma 4x4 - wheeled armoured recon vehicle ( 330 )
★ Lince VTML ( 1260 )
★ AAV7-A1 Amphibious vehicle
Artillery
★ M109L self-propelled howitzer ( 192; 72 are beeing replaced with the PzH 2000 )
★ PzH 2000 self-propelled howitzer ( 72 )
★ FH-70 towed howitzer ( 120 )
★ MLRS Multiple Launch Rocket System ( 22 )
★ 120mm F1 Mortar
Aircraft inventory
PzH 2000
MLRS
A129 Mangusta
The Italian Army operates 484 aircraft, including 471 helicopters.
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service[1]
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
| Agusta A109 || || utility helicopter || A109A
A109EOA || 4
23 ||
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| Agusta A129 Mangusta || || attack helicopter || || 56 ||
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| Bell 205 || || utility helicopter || AB 205A || 89 || built by Agusta
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| Bell 206 || || utility helicopter || AB 206A
AB 206B ||
56 || built by Agusta
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| Bell 212 || || transport helicopter || AB 212 || 12 || built by Agusta
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| Bell 412 || || transport helicopter || AB 412 || 23 || built by Agusta
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| Boeing CH-47 Chinook || || transport helicopter || CH-47C || 36 || built by Agusta
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| Dornier Do 228 || || utility transport || Do 228-200 || 4 ||
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| NHI NH90 || || transport helicopter || || || 60 on order
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| Piaggio P180 Avanti || || utility transport || || 3 ||
|}
Operations
A post-World War II peace treaty signed by Italy prevented the country from deploying military forces in overseas operations as well as possessing fixed-wing vessel-based aircraft for twenty-five years following the end of the war.
This treaty expired in 1970, but it would not be until 1982 that Italy first deployed troops on foreign soil, with a peacekeeping contingent being dispatched to Beirut following a United Nations request for troops. Since the 1980s, Italian troops have participated with other Western countries in peacekeeping operations across the world, especially in Africa, Balkan Peninsula and the Middle East.
As of yet, the Italian Army has not engaged in major combat operations since World War II; though Italian Special Forces have taken part in anti-Taliban operations in Afghanistan as part of Task Force 'Nibbio'. Italy was not yet a member of the United Nations in 1950, when that organization went to war with North Korea.
Italy did take part in the 1990-91 Gulf War but solely through the deployment of eight Italian Air Force Panavia Tornado IDS bomber jets to Saudi Arabia; Italian Army troops were subsequently deployed to assist Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq following the conflict.
As part of Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, Italy contributed to the international operation in Afghanistan. Italian forces have contributed to ISAF, the NATO force in Afghanistan, and a Provincial reconstruction team and 5 Italian soldiers have died under ISAF. Italy has sent 411 troops, based on 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 Italian military police. Three AB 212 helicopters also were deployed to Kabul.
The Italian Army did not take part in combat operations of the 2003 Second Gulf War, dispatching troops only after May 1, 2003 - 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. On 26 May, 2006, Italian foreign minister Massimo d'Alema announced that the Italian forces would be reduced to 1,600 by June. As of June 2006 32 Italian troops have been killed in Iraq - with the greatest single loss of life coming on November 12, 2003 - a suicide car bombing of the Italian Carabinieri Corps HQ left a dozen Carabinieri, five Army soldiers, two Italian civilians, and eight Iraqi civilians dead.
As of 2006, Italy ranks third in the world in number of military forces operating in peacekeeping and peace-enforcing scenarios Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Lebanon following only the United States and United Kingdom.
A recent law promotes membership of the Italian Army guaranteeing volunteers post-Army careers in the Carabinieri, Italian State Police, Customs Police, State Forestry Department and other state bodies.
External links
★ Official Homepage of the Italian Army
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