Admission to the academy is subject to the passing of a test open to all Italian citizens between 17 and 22 years old, with a high school diploma.

The selection process, which happens between February and September, includes an examination, a medical check, and written and oral tests.

[1] The Italian air force was founded as an independent service by King Vittorio Emanuele III of the Kingdom of Italy (Regno d'Italia) on March 28, 1923.

The first commander of the academy was Ship-of-the-line captain Giulio Valli; the top student in the first graduating class in 1926 was the noted aviator Fausto Cecconi.

In 1946 the re-constituted post-war Aeronautica Militare Italiana established the academy on the island of Nisida in the Bay of Naples.