Editing Italy (section)

=== Military ===
{{Main|Italian Armed Forces|Military history of Italy}}
{{See also|List of wars involving Italy}}
[[File:Cavour (550).jpg|thumb|Aircraft carrier ''[[Italian aircraft carrier Cavour|Cavour]]'', the [[flagship]] of the [[Italian Navy]]]]
[[File:Centauro01.JPEG|thumb|An Italian Army [[Centauro (Tank destroyer)|Centauro]] tank destroyer during a patrol in [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]] as part of [[Implementation Force|IFOR]]]]

The [[military history of Italy]] chronicles a vast time period, lasting from the military conflicts fought by the [[ancient peoples of Italy]], most notably the conquest of the Mediterranean world by the [[ancient Romans]], through the expansion of the Italian [[Italian city-states|city-states]] and [[maritime republics]] during the medieval period and the involvement of the [[List of historical states of Italy|historical Italian states]] in the [[Italian Wars]] and the [[wars of succession]], to the Napoleonic period, the [[Italian unification]], the campaigns of the [[Italian Empire|colonial empire]], the two [[world wars]], and into the modern day, with world [[peacekeeping]] operations under the aegis of [[NATO]], the [[EU]] or the [[UN]].

The [[Italian Army]], [[Italian Navy|Navy]], [[Italian Air Force|Air Force]], and [[Carabinieri]] collectively form the Italian Armed Forces, under the command of the [[High Council of Defence (Italy)|High Council of Defence]], presided over by the president, per the [[Constitution of Italy]]. According to Article 78, the [[Italian Parliament|Parliament]] has the authority to declare a state of war and vest the necessary war-making powers in the government.

Despite not being a branch of the armed forces, the [[Guardia di Finanza]] has military status and is organised along military lines.{{Efn|The Guardia di Finanza operates a large fleet of ships, aircraft and helicopters, enabling it to patrol Italy's waters and to participate in warfare scenarios.}} Since 2005, military service has been voluntary.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Law n°226 of August 23, 2004 |url=http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/04226l.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117013103/http://www.camera.it/parlam/leggi/04226l.htm|archive-date=17 January 2013|access-date=13 July 2012|publisher=Camera.it}}</ref> In 2010, the Italian military had 293,202 personnel on active duty,<ref>"The Military Balance 2010", pp. 141–145. [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]], 3 February 2010.</ref> of which 114,778 are Carabinieri.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Italian Ministry of Defence|author-link=Ministry of Defence (Italy)|title=Nota aggiuntiva allo stato di previsione per la Difesa per l'anno 2009 |url=http://www.difesa.it/NR/rdonlyres/5EF11493-59DD-4FB7-8485-F4258D9F5891/0/Nota_Aggiuntiva_2009.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504073613/http://www.difesa.it/NR/rdonlyres/5EF11493-59DD-4FB7-8485-F4258D9F5891/0/Nota_Aggiuntiva_2009.pdf|archive-date=4 May 2011|access-date=11 July 2014|language=it}}</ref> As part of NATO's [[nuclear sharing]] strategy, Italy hosts 90 US [[B61 nuclear bomb]]s located at the [[Ghedi Air Base|Ghedi]] and [[Aviano Air Base|Aviano]] air bases.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hans M. Kristensen / Natural Resources Defense Council|year=2005|title=NRDC: U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe – part 1|url=http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/euro/euro_pt1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110101060355/http://www.nrdc.org/nuclear/euro/euro_pt1.pdf|archive-date=1 January 2011|access-date=30 May 2011}}</ref>

The Army is the national ground defence force. It was formed in 1946, when Italy became a republic, from what remained of the "[[Royal Italian Army]]". Its best-known combat vehicles are the [[Dardo IFV|Dardo]] [[infantry fighting vehicle]], the [[B1 Centauro]] [[tank destroyer]], and the [[Ariete]] [[tank]], and among its aircraft are the [[Agusta A129 Mangusta|Mangusta]] [[attack helicopter]], deployed on EU, NATO, and UN missions. It has at its disposal [[Leopard 1]] and [[M113 armoured personnel carrier|M113]] armoured vehicles.

The Italian Navy is a [[blue-water navy]]. It was also formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''[[Regia Marina]]'' (the 'Royal Navy'). The Navy, being a member of the EU and NATO, has taken part in coalition peacekeeping operations around the world. In 2014, the Navy operated 154 vessels in service, including minor auxiliary vessels.<ref>{{Cite web|title=La Marina Militare OGGI|url=http://flpdifesa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Linee-intervento-del-Capo-di-SMM.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220525043355/http://flpdifesa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Linee-intervento-del-Capo-di-SMM.pdf|archive-date=25 May 2022|access-date=28 April 2022|language=it}}</ref>

The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm in 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the ''[[Regia Aeronautica]]'' ('Royal Air Force'). After World War II, it was renamed as the ''Regia Aeronautica''. In 2021, the Italian Air Force operated 219 combat jets. A transport capability is guaranteed by a fleet of 27 [[Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules|C-130Js]] and [[C-27J Spartan]]. The acrobatic display team is the ''[[Frecce Tricolori]]'' ('Tricolour Arrows').

An autonomous corps of the military, the Carabinieri are the [[gendarmerie]] and [[military police]] of Italy, policing the military and civilian population alongside [[Law enforcement in Italy|Italy's other police forces]]. While different branches of the Carabinieri report to separate ministries, the corps reports to the Ministry of Internal Affairs when maintaining public order and security.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Carabinieri Force is linked to the Ministry of Defence|url=http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Multilingua/EN/GoverningBodies|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110430214042/http://www.carabinieri.it/Internet/Multilingua/EN/GoverningBodies|archive-date=30 April 2011|access-date=14 May 2010|publisher=Carabinieri}}</ref>