As by this point the Italian Kingdom had defected from the Axis and had declared war on Germany, the ACI pilots flew for the Allies.

A small part of the Italian Royal Air Force (Regia Aeronautica) remained under German control.

This was known as the National Republican Air Force (Aeronautica Nazionale Repubblicana, or ANR), ostensibly part of the forces of Benito Mussolini's Fascist state in northern Italy, the Italian Social Republic (Repubblica Sociale Italiana).

The ACI never operated over Italian territory, its objectives being always in the Balkans (Yugoslavia or Albania).

The ACI formed the basis of the post-war Air Force of the Italian Republic (Aeronautica Militare Italiana).