The size of the Italian Air Force has been halved over the past ten years in terms of personnel, materiel and equipment but it has lost none of its efficiency, Italy's top military commander said.
"The fact that it is half the size it was ten years ago does not mean it has lost its effectiveness," said Gen. Giuseppe Bernardis, armed forces chief of staff, as quoted by the Ansa national news agency.
Speaking in an address marking the Air Force's 87th anniversary, he said: "We have invested and continue to invest the resources we have been allocated in the quality of our materiel and, above all, the training of our personnel."
The Italian Air Force reportedly operates a total active fleet of 517 aircraft, which makes it NATO's fifth largest only behind the U.S., the UK, Turkey and France. The IAF operates 217 fighter aircraft.
ROME, March 27 (RIA Novosti)
