| Italian Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Forze Armate Italiane (FF.AA.) | |
 Coat of arms of the Italian Defence Staff | |
| Founded | 4 May 1861 (163 years, 6 months) |
| Service branches | |
| Headquarters | Rome[1] |
| Leadership | |
| President of the Republic |  Sergio Mattarella |
| Prime Minister |  Giorgia Meloni |
| Minister of Defence |  Guido Crosetto |
| Chief of the Defence Staff |  General Luciano Portolano |
| Personnel | |
| Active personnel | 165,500[2] |
| Reserve personnel | 18,300[2] |
| Expenditure | |
| Budget | US$32.0 billion (2021) (ranked 11th)[3] |
| Percent of GDP | 1.5% (2021)[3] |
| Industry | |
| Domestic suppliers | Avio Beretta Fincantieri Fiocchi Munizioni Intermarine Iveco Leonardo Piaggio Aerospace |
| Foreign suppliers |  United States Germany Israel France United Kingdom Canada |
| Annual imports | US$326 million (2014–2022)[4] |
| Annual exports | US$886 million (2014–2022)[4] |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Italy Warfare directory of Italy Wars involving Italy Battles involving Italy |
| Ranks | Army 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b IISS 2021, p. 116.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "TIV of arms imports/exports data for India, 2014-2022". Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 30 January 2024.
- ^ 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
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.