Not only Twister, what will be used by the Italian missile defense
Who was there and what was said at the webinar organized by the International Affairs Institute "Missile defense, Europe and Italy"
The Italian missile defense as well as that of the main European countries is today unable to counteract the new hypersonic missiles.
But we are running for cover.
Italy should in fact develop the next generation of missile defense systems starting from the Twister project in the Pesco area. That is permanent structured cooperation in defense matters.
It must therefore be done with strong European cooperation and with the aim of keeping the system fully integrated within NATO.
This is what emerged during the presentation webinar of the Iai study "The missile defense of Europe and Italy: capabilities and cooperation". The webinar was attended by the CEO of Leonardo, Alessandro Profumo, the CEO of Mbda Italia, Lorenzo Mariani, the president of the Aiad, Guido Crosetto, the Chief of Defense Staff, Enzo Vecciarelli, and the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini.
"Only the NATO alliance can provide the framework and the capacity for the missile defense of Europe and therefore of Italy, but it is in the EU that Rome and the main European partners can find the balance between operational and technological sovereignty on the one hand and aggregation of investments and economies of scale on the other, ”explained Alessandro Marrone, head of the Iai Defense Program and author of the study.
All the details.
THE ITALIAN MISSILE DEFENSE
The importance of missile defense for Italy is expressed in three meanings. "Importance for the security of the national territory, for the Italian contingents on missions abroad (37 in 25 countries), for the system of alliances we are part of and more generally for the defense of national interests in a strategic framework marked by an increasingly aggressive multipolarity ”, explained Marrone, author of the Iai study together with Karolina Muti. "However, for a variety of reasons, missile defense has not always been a priority for the country at a political-strategic level, with negative effects on the state of the relative capabilities of the armed forces."
“The Air Force Air Operations Command has the mandate to oversee the defense of the national airspace, also through the Poggio Renatico facility and its sensor network. Most missile defense systems are operated by the Army and Navy. The first with Samp-t and the second with Saam and Paams. "
“Europe's Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) is structurally joint and multinational within the NATO framework. In Italy, however, this joint integration is not satisfactory – remarked Marrone – compared to countries such as France and the United Kingdom. In Italy the distribution of responsibilities among the Armed Forces prevails to the detriment of the interforces. Italy's commitment to missions abroad entails pressing requirements for the protection of forces at the theater level, as in the case of Iraq and Libya. This should not make us forget, however, that today the threat is weighing on the upper part of the spectrum and that the new technological frontier is represented by hypersonic missiles ”.
VECCIARELLI: "IN THE FULL OF A MISSILE PROLIFERATION PHASE"
"Missile proliferation does not stop in Russia and China", said Enzo Vecciarelli, Chief of Defense Staff. In fact, he recalled what happened “in Saudi Arabia with missile system launches from Yemen, in Nagorno Karabakh, but also launches from Iran as well as North Korea has recently carried out ballistic tests towards Japan”.
“We are experiencing a phase that sees missile proliferation advance even with the ambitions of non-state entities. Investing in the missile arsenal gives a great return in terms of cost effectiveness and requires those who have to defend themselves to have an absolutely significant operational and financial involvement. Having to carry out a balanced programming with the resources of the country, the problem becomes remaining flexible facing multi-domain dynamics, where digitization plays an important role ".
"The Defense has recently joined a further development of Samp / t – highlighted Vecciarelli – with what is called the new generation of these missile systems, which will be extended from the initial assets that were for the Army and for the Navy also for the Air Force. So a community of systems that will put us in the best conditions to defend the territory ”.
“At the same time we have thought, especially for the departments in the various missions, to equip ourselves with cruise myssile systems, in order to have adequate countermeasures available in the medium to long term to guarantee the safety of our personnel”. We are striving to achieve space situational awareness, because it is from space that these threats will come. So that we can make our contribution to the deterrence of the Alliance, also adhering to programs such as the Twister della Pesco ”.
THE TWISTER PROJECT
Twister will develop a multi-role European endo-atmospheric interceptor by 2030. That is, capable of responding to both conventional targets such as next-generation fighter aircraft, as well as threats from intermediate-range maneuvering ballistic missiles, hypersonic or supersonic cruise missiles, hypersonic gliders.
"PLAY OUR PART IN THE TEMPEST"
"But we would also like to start doing our part and this can be done in the Tempest," added the Chief of Defense. That is the project of the air combat system of the future of British initiative to which Italy and Sweden have joined.
"Where a large amount of energy will be available to this sixth generation system – Vecciarelli pointed out – I do not exclude the use of energy directed at sighting in the launch phase of the latest generation missiles"
Furthermore, the Chief of Defense Staff stressed the "need for dialogue and cooperation between defense and national industry which is well positioned in the context and has the ability to enter both European and NATO cooperation programs".
LEONARDO: "PROGRAMS LIKE TWISTER MUST BE FINANCED IN THE LONG PERIOD"
"Today the menacing men have an advantage over the threatened", underlined the number one of Leonardo Alessandro Profumo.
“For the technologies involved and the complexity of the threats we need multi-dimensional stratification in which integration and interoperability are fundamental”. Leonardo wants to be a player in the sector. “The limit is partly technological, ready to cooperate even with non-European partners. And the limit is also financial, there may be the opportunity to move from the origin on a European basis like the Twister program to avoid duplication ”.
“At the EU level, it is essential that projects such as the Twister program (included in the EDF) are financed in the medium and long term. At an industrial level, the development of systems can only be at a European and NATO level ”, Profumo specified.
AIAD: "THE CERTAINTY OF RESOURCES IS FUNDAMENTAL"
“So far we have been given an advantage in this sector, we have people and the supply chain with know-how” underlined Guido Crosetto, president of Aiad. "We have an instrument with which to participate in this sector which is Mbda, which is the main instrument that exists in Europe and the second in the world, so we have an advantage in any possible cooperation".
The president of the association that brings together and represents companies in the defense sector reiterated the importance of the certainty of resources and the continuity of investments, as emerges from the Iai study.
"Normally the resources allocated to missiles represent 3-4% of the final defense budget". “The certainty of resources is therefore an essential factor. Therefore, in order not to waste industrial assets, it is necessary to follow specific and clear choices, to build a niche technology. "
MBDA: "A EUROPEAN RESPONSE TO THE EUROPEAN THREAT IS INEVITABLE"
Russia and China are moving a lot on the hypersonic. "The answer is a system one, which involves the radar component, the command and control component and the interceptor, the part that affects Mbda".
For Mbda Italia CEO Lorenzo Mariani, “A system to combat the hypersonic threat necessarily requires a European effort”. "This is a major challenge, which will need to be assisted by consistency in funding."
"In 2020-2021 the United States spent 3 billion dollars on hypersonic technologies, even if the defense component was only 20% we are talking about numbers that are still very far for Europe". The investment problem therefore exists.
Speaking of European consolidation, Mariani recalls that Mbda is involved in the interceptor component of the Twister. “Within the Mbda interceptor it operates with France, Germany, Italy and Spain. Four out of five Mbda nations ”.
IN THE TWISTER "NO ENGLAND"
"But England is missing," said Mbda CEO. “The expertise gained by England in the Mbda and in the Meteor and Aster programs is an indispensable component, it is not so much if England should participate in the Twister. If anything, it is also how England can be included in the development of a system to counter the hypersonic threat ”Mariani underlined.
GUERINI: "NATO'S INTEGRATED MISSILE DEFENSE IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE FORM OF DETERRENCE"
Finally, according to the Minister of Defense, Lorenzo Guerini, “the national security of our country is firmly protected within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance. The Alliance's integrated air missile defense is the most effective form of deterrence and defense for Europe ” .
"NATO in this respect is adapting its posture also following the development of the missile capabilities that Russia would have equipped itself with, for example, in the field of intermediate-range missiles – added the minister – the presence of American systems in Europe and in Turkey on the one hand, and the integrated military command on the other, cement the Transatlantic bond and in this context, European countries collaborate with the US to respond to the technological challenge posed by the new generation of missile systems ”.
“In the framework of European cooperation, the various countries must do more to jointly develop the military capabilities to be integrated in deterrence and collective defense and the Atlantic Alliance” concluded Guerini. "The development of ambitious and robust military capabilities require cooperation because no European state can develop them alone, building these capabilities together strengthens European defense in a logic of full collaboration in the Atlantic alliance".
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/non-solo-twister-cosa-servira-alla-difesa-missilistica-italiana/ on Thu, 08 Apr 2021 06:51:08 +0000.