Armed Tornado jets taking off in Operation Allied Force, April Kosovo War.

“Operation Allied Force“ The Kosovo War (Part 1): Armed Italian Panavia Tornados taking off from Gioia Del Colle Air Force Base, Italy for operations over Kosovo, April 1999. Twenty two years ago, Italian Tornados and other NATO aircraft flew operationally in the NATO led air campaign. The first pair taking off, in old Desert Storm camouflage, are probably original IDS variants - acquired new from 1984 by the Aeronautica Militare 156 Gruppo/Squadron, 36 Stormo/Wing. They would have seen service in the ’Gulf War’ 1990-1991. The last paired takeoff, in grey camouflage, may be the ’newer’ ADV/F3’s which from my research are probably 21 Gruppo/Squadron, 53 Stormo/Wing. These were leased British, Royal Air Force Tornado ADV/F3’s, in service from 1995-2004. The air strikes lasted from March 24, 1999 to June 10, 1999. The bombings continued until an agreement was reached that led to the withdrawal of Yugoslav armed forces from Kosovo, and the establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission, a