Strategic Project

It was in November 1884 that the Ministry of War approved the establishment of an “Aeronautical Section”. The aerostatic section began operating in 1885 from Forte Tiburtino in Rome, while remaining attached to the 3rd Engineer Regiment in Florence, and it was initially assigned two French-built balloons.

In 1887, as an engineer unit, the balloonists of the “Africa Specialists Company” set off for Eritrea with the Expeditionary Corps commanded by General Asinari di S. Marzano. In that setting, near Forte di Saati, several ascents were made to monitor the movements of the Abyssinian forces under the command of Ras Alula.

In 1908 the first airship of Italian design was completed and inflated on 3 October of that year, when the airship “N. 1” also made its maiden ascent.

The Libyan War proved an important testing ground for the fledgling field of aeronautics; the Aerostatic Park (2 Draken balloons) and the aerostatic signalling section both took part. Ascent operations began in November 1911 and, until the end of the conflict, the balloons made a valuable contribution to the ground forces, especially in correcting artillery fire.

Aeroplane operations were still in their infancy and, although the number of missions remained fairly limited, these aircraft made a significant contribution to the conduct of operations, within the limits of the technology of the day. The pilots not only carried out observation and gathered intelligence on the enemy’s movements, but also mounted actual attacks, bombing opposing troops and positions.

There is no doubt that the experience helped to give a clearer understanding of the vast potential uses of the new machines, showing that aviation was by then becoming an armed force in its own right.

Today the Italian Air Force is establishing itself as a fundamental player in accessing and harnessing the broad atmospheric band extending between current maximum flight altitudes (around 18/20 km) and the Karman line, which marks the boundary of space. The Service brings to bear its inherent domain expertise through an inclusive strategy of full collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, the National Research Council and the Italian Aerospace Research Centre (to name just a few of the scientific and academic bodies with which it has built excellent relationships and productive exchange agreements).

On the international stage, moreover, as the natural upward extension of its Air Defence Command and Control capability, the Italian Air Force cultivates and strengthens relations with its principal partners. Among these are the US Air Force, the Roscosmos agency, NASA, and friendly and allied Air Forces with which it shares a vision increasingly geared towards aerospace and innovative interfaces such as satellite air-launch, suborbital flight, stratospheric platforms and Space Situational Awareness.

Space is the natural extension of the operating environment in which the Italian Air Force works: a long tradition in the field, with research and activities that have always been at the forefront of satellite, supersonic and manned flight, has led the Service to count among its personnel a large proportion of Italy’s astronauts. The skill, aptitude and excellence of the astronauts who come from the Italian Air Force are the fruit of the formative role of the Air Force Academy and of training within operational units, working every day with advanced and innovative technologies.

By its very nature, the Italian Air Force is geared towards continuous innovation and pioneering experimentation, and it counts technology as one of its key strengths. Human spaceflight is a key opportunity for the aerospace dimension, turning the Service’s efforts into a driver of investment and of the country’s growth, with scientific, technological and industrial returns that bring improvements in everyday life.

In June 2023 Colonel Walter Villadei took part in Virgin Galactic’s Galactic 01 suborbital flight, and in January 2024 he reached space and the International Space Station as a pilot on Axiom Mission 3. This marked a landmark shift, one of many in the Italian Air Force’s century-long history, and the Service, with its distinctive expertise in this domain, intends to be a leading player in this ongoing change, not least by acting as a catalyst for the development and success of a new model of public-private synergy.

The history of the Service, through all its successive evolutions, is preserved at the Vigna di Valle Historical Museum: a journey rich in events, feats, deeds and testimonies of inestimable value that stand as eloquent proof of the daring and the profound sense of duty that our aviators have handed down from one generation to the next, in faithful and unceasing protection of our country. The MUSAM, which also holds unique features and mementoes, has been ranked among the finest and most important aviation museums in the world. As mentioned, it is home to the Garnerin Balloon, the oldest aeronautical relic in the world – which is displayed in the entrance hall inside a large glass case, intended to showcase the uniqueness of the Museum to visitors from the very start.