THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARMY AVIATION IN ITALY AT THE END OF THE XX – BEGINNING OF THE XXI CENTURY

In the last decade of the XX century and at the beginning of the XXI century army aviation of the Italian Ground Forces has undergone a complex evolution in organizational and technical terms. From the point of view of the organizational structure, there is a gradual transition from a decentralized to a centralized organization with a reduction in the number of small units and their consolidation into regiments. At the same time, general military units and units got rid of their aviation components. This made it possible to optimize the use of army aviation under the conditions of a significant reduction in its number. Three achievements should be attributed to the main destructions in the technical aspect: 1) introduction of the A-129 attack helicopter, which meant the appearance of this class of equipment in the Italian army aviation; 2) partial replacement of outdated multipurpose helicopters with new UH-90A; 3) replacement of CH-47C heavy transport helicopters with new ICH-47F. At the same time, even taking into account these deliveries, as of 2021, the share of modern equipment in the helicopter fleet of the Army Aviation was only slightly more than half. In the studied period, the army aviation of the Italian Ground Forces took an active part in peacekeeping and combat operations outside the country. Carrying out their small specifics in different time intervals. Until the 90s of the XX century. completely short-term operations (for example, in Somalia) were typical. Some of them were characterized by the involvement of sufficiently significant forces (Operation «Alba Neo» in Albania). In the XXI century army aviation was engaged in two long operations (in Iraq and Afghanistan), which, moreover, were conducted in difficult natural and climatic conditions. This required the establishment of an effective system of rotation of aviation units and their logistical support.