During the late '90s, Italy decided on the Eurofighter Typhoon as its next generation air-defense fighter. However, the Typhoon faced delivery delays for some time, and as a result, multiple interim temporary fighters were loaned from various countries: 24 Panavia Tornado ADV jets from the United Kingdom were leased to cover the gap. This lease ran out in 2003, with the Typhoon still not ready for service. A solution was provided by the United States in a special program titled the Italian Foreign Military Sales program, a.k.a "PEACE CAESAR". A five-year lease of 34 F-16s, with an option to extend the lease for another five years, was offered to the Italian Air Force. Of those, 30 aircraft were F-16A Block 15 ADFs and F-16B twin-seater trainers, while the remaining four were earlier-block aircraft for spares. These were all older used reserve aircraft from US Air Force inventory. Throughout the late 2010s, the Italian Typhoon was finally starting to come online, and in June 2010, the Italian Air Force started the return of the F-16s to the United States. The process was completed on 23 May, 2012, when all the Italian F-16s were returned to the US.

The F-16A ADF (Italy), introduced in Update "Apex Predators", is a direct copy of the F-16A ADF found in the American tech tree. Like its American brother, it sits in a middle ground between the F-16s in-game. The ADF lacks the advanced systems and extra countermeasures found on the newer F-16C/D, but includes the required electronics for firing the AIM-7M Sparrow missiles, something the older and lighter F-16A variants lacked. The F-16A ADF ensures that Italy has access to air-combat capability with some of the most advanced missiles in-game, as well as advanced avionics and manoeuvrability. It does not have notable air-to-ground capability, however the M61 20 mm cannon can still be effective against lightly armoured targets, such as SPAAs or IFVs.