Italian Armed Forces

Italian Armed Forces
Forze armate italiane (FF.AA.)
Coat of arms of the Italian Defence Staff
Founded4 May 1861
(162 years, 11 months)
Service branches
HeadquartersRome[1]
Leadership
President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni
Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto
Chief of the Defence Staff Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone
Personnel
Active personnel165,500[2]
Reserve personnel18,300[2]
Expenditures
BudgetUS$32.0 billion (2021)
(ranked 11th)[3]
Percent of GDP1.5% (2021)[3]
Industry
Domestic suppliersAvio
Beretta
Fincantieri
Fiocchi Munizioni
Intermarine
Iveco
Leonardo
Piaggio Aerospace
Foreign suppliers United States
 Germany
 Israel
 France
 United Kingdom
 Canada
Annual importsUS$326 million (2014-2022)[4]
Annual exportsUS$886 million (2014-2022)[4]
Related articles
HistoryMilitary history of Italy
Warfare directory of Italy
Wars involving Italy
Battles involving Italy
RanksArmy ranks
Navy ranks
Air Force ranks
Carabinieri Ranks

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 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.[1][6][7][8] 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.

  1. ^ a b "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.
  2. ^ a b IISS 2021, p. 116.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ a b "TIV of arms imports/exports data for India, 2014-2022". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 30 January 2024.
  5. ^ 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 military scenarios
  6. ^ "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.
  7. ^ Lioe, Kim Eduard (25 November 2010). Armed Forces in Law Enforcement Operations? - The German and European Perspective. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9783642154348. Retrieved 28 March 2018 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ Schmitt, M. N.; Arimatsu, Louise; McCormack, Tim (5 August 2011). Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law - 2010. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN 9789067048118. Retrieved 28 March 2018 – via Google Books.

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