for scrapping on 9 July 2012. Italian Air Force In the early 1990s, the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana, or AMI) identified a requirement for a fighter to boost its air defence capabilities pending introduction of the Eurofighter Typhoon, expected around 2000. These fighters were to operate alongside the service's obsolescent F-104ASA Starfighters. The Tornado ADV was selected from, amongst others, the F-16. On 17 November 1993, Italy signed an agreement with the RAF to lease 24 Tornado F3s from the RAF for a period of ten years. The lease included 96 Sky Flash TEMP missiles (a lower standard than the version in RAF service), training, logistical supply for ADV-specific equipment and access to the RAF facility at Saint Athan. During March 1995, the training of the first AMI pilots commenced at RAF Coningsby while technicians gained experience at RAF Cottesmore and Coningsby. On 5 July 1995, the first aircraft was accepted by the AMI and was flown to its Italian base the same day. Delivery of the first batch was completed by the end of year; these aircraft were deployed at Gioia del Colle in Southern Italy. The second batch was delivered between February and July 1997, these aircraft were of a slightly higher specification. In early 1997, the AMI announced that it was cancelling a series of scheduled upgrades to its Tornado fleet, stating that it was placing priority for funding on the in-development Eurofighter instead. The Tornado proved to be fairly unreliable in Italian service, reportedly achieving serviceability rates of 50% or less. Air Forces Monthly this attributed the poor performance to the AMI having underestimated the different support requirements of the aircraft versus the Tornado IDS, a lack of spare engines (which were not included in the lease agreement), and a lack of equipment. During 2000, amid considerable delays in the Eurofighter programme, the AMI started its search for another interim fighter. While the Tornado ADV was a candidate once again, any long term extension to the lease arrangement would have involved the associated aircraft to be upgraded to RAF CSP standard along with structural modifications to extend the airframes' service life, officials considered such commitments to not be cost effective. In February 2001, Italy announced it was set to lease 35 F-16s from the United States as its new interim fighter. Accordingly, the AMI returned its Tornados to the RAF; the final aircraft arrived