The day-long celebration of the centenary of the Italian Air Force in Washington yesterday, March 28, concluded with a reception hosted by the Italian Embassy in Washington and organized by the Office of the Defense Attaché, attended by members of the Armed Forces and the U.S. State Department and representatives of allied and partner countries.

"We could not 'fly into the future' if not together with our closest and strongest ally, the United States," pointed out Italian Ambassador Mariangela Zappia in her opening remarks, paraphrasing the slogan chosen for the celebrations and recalling the cornerstones of the collaboration between Italy and the United States in the fields of aeronautics and aerospace.

Along the same lines spoke the Secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Frank Kendall, who enhanced the bilateral defense partnership and the commitment of the Italian Air Force and all of our country's armed forces in the NATO framework, including with air policing activities in Europe in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Defense Attaché in Washington, General Maurizio Cantiello, recalled the main achievements of the Italian Air Force in its first 100 years, highlighting how many of them were reached together with the United States.

The celebrations in Washington began with a flag-raising ceremony at the Embassy and the laying of a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Military Cemetery, a ceremony enriched by the passage of four U.S. Air Force airplanes flown by eight Italian pilots engaged as instructors at Sheppard Air Base in Texas.