(by Admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi) Italy is one of the small number of countries that boast a solid and long-established AD&S sector. The aerospace, defense and security sector (hence the acronym AD&S just mentioned) in our country, which ranks among the top 10 in the world, in fact, moves a considerable amount of 13,5 billion in turnover, second only to the automotive one.
Understanding the value for Italy of this supply chain and acting in such a way that it is increasingly a catalyst and an accelerator of the industrial and technological development of the country-system is today increasingly strategic and vulnerable to external attacks, particularly French ones.
The Italian AD&S supply chain is made up of large multinationals, a dense network of small and medium-sized enterprises, research centers and university centers of excellence spread throughout the country which constitute the distinctive feature and strength of the sector. The supply chain, however, is led by Finmeccanica and Fincantieri, which, in addition to being the major groups in the sector today, and both state-controlled, it would be good if they spoke and collaborated effectively and not only in ritual declarations, to avoid making more or less unconsciously the game of our most despised competitor, Macrona's France. A few days ago, the news came that Leonardo Finmeccanica decided to acquire 98,54% of Vitrociset, a small but strategic Roman company of specialist services and solutions for systems for the Defense and Security, Space, Transport and Infrastructure sectors of which it already owns 1,46%. An operation that strengthens Leonardo in its core business of services, in particular in logistics, Simulation & Training and space operations, including the Space Surveillance and Tracking segment that Vitrociset parades at Fincantieri and Mer Mec, which had teamed up precisely to carry out the acquisition transaction.
Fincantieri has announced, however, that it will continue with the initiatives, which have been launched for some time, aimed at implementing the skills in the logistic support activities requested by customers, a factor that makes it increasingly indispensable to successfully compete on international markets. In the face of this acquisition and especially following the alliance between France and Italy through Naval Group and Fincantieri in the military sector, industry experts assume increasing tensions between the two large companies led by Alessandro Profumo and the other by Giuseppe Bono . Tensions and bad moods that, according to industry experts, will sooner or later have to be addressed directly to the government and in particular by the Treasury.
Defense Minister Elisabetta Trenta, during the Ambrosetti workshop in a discussion dedicated to the sector, declared: “The Defense will continue to ensure its support to the national industry, in coordination with the other competent departments. In this regard, I believe it is fundamental, as well as constructive, that our state-owned companies dialogue and speak collaboratively, since only in this way will we be able to strengthen and integrate the Italian system in the world, winning the challenge of competitiveness and international competition " . In the same workshop, a study entitled “The Italian Aerospace, Defense and Security industry. How to create industrial development, new technological skills and growth for the country system ”aimed at explaining the reasons that make Aerospace, Defense and Security (AD&S) strategic for the country system. Among these, we mainly talked about the fundamental role that the sector plays in key areas for the functioning and development of each territorial system, setting the conditions for its security, stability and growth, and the contribution to scientific progress and research new technologies. The AD&S sector allows, in fact, to generate frontier know-how and technological innovation, both on the military and civilian side (dual use), and acting as a driving force for development along the entire extended industry chain. In order to trigger a process of consolidation of the continental AD&S industry, not only nationally therefore nor European but world-wide, our country must increasingly become a key point in this sector, driven especially by its solid pool of skills and technologies developed and by the support from national institutions. In order to maximize the contribution of the AD&S sector to the development of new skills and the growth of the country-system, it will therefore be necessary, on the one hand, to adopt a vision and a long-term strategic positioning perspective, which enhances the national AD&S industry as a tool in support of national foreign policy.
As for the mantras of the European Defense Industry by Ministra Pinotti, it would be time to change the register, especially in sectors where Italy still has the autonomous capacity for designing and producing national weapon systems, as is the case with ships military, to avoid letting us reduce to the role of supporting actors as happened in the space and missile sector in which we excelled in the years '60 and' 70 and that now sees us reduced to subjects of French industry (eg Selenia Space) . To this end, in my opinion it is necessary to strengthen cooperation with England (with which we have for example worked very well with helicopter programs) and with the United States. It is clear that we must also participate in the European area knowing that such participation must be a means and not an end in itself, a flag to be waved in Parliament to defend itself against attacks on military expenses.
A constant and adequate investment is also needed to fuel research activities and innovation. Precisely for this reason, Italy today should carry forward a strategy that safeguards the industrial capabilities of excellence and that does not penalize military exports. The role of the Ministry of Defense is fundamental in this sense, whose owner said: "In the reference framework of the national defense system are two aspects that affect more: the available financial resources and the cost of the most modern equipment. This requires a strategy that allows the country to safeguard and strengthen its areas of excellence through the search for adequate outlets on the international market, including collaboration with technologically advanced countries, friends and allies, with an industrial involvement and the enhancement of their ability in other fields ". In other words, the minister of defense said, "we must consider exportability as a value in the programs of our armed forces".
This is a wish which we hope will be followed by the facts. With the probable acquisition of Finmeccanica / Leonardo by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the control of the state over the two greats in the sector could in fact be more incisive than in the past, better equipped to put an end to the ten-year Italo-Italian guerrilla between Finmeccanica and Fincantieri. , otherwise only one of two duelists will remain in the pedi and it is not said to be the Italian one.