The handover ceremony with Col. D’Amico was presided over by General Gelao, Head of the II Information and Security Department of SMD. Col. D’Amico, at the helm of the Centre since February 2009, in his farewell speech highlighted the profound evolution, both operational and organizational, that the Centre underwent during his period of command, with the entry into operations of the national satellite system COSMO-SkyMed, rightly considered the flagship of Italian civil and military technology, and the subsequent new organizational configuration of the Centre.
The promotion of the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, combined with the system’s important technical characteristics in terms of global coverage and high frequency revisitability, has indeed already yielded initial results, with the agreement signed with new partners such as Poland and with others that could be added in the short and medium term.
Colonel Cau, the first Officer of the Air Force Intelligence to assume the leadership of the CITS, expressed his pride and sense of responsibility in taking on the top position of the Center, a prestigious and unique technical-operational Entity in the field of satellite remote sensing, declaring that he wanted to be inspired by the models of illustrious and historical Officers of the Air Force Intelligence, of unparalleled greatness such as Alessandro Guidoni, a perfect synthesis of Officer and technician up to the utmost sacrifice, and Luigi Broglio, the greatest contributor to astronautics in Italy. The new Director also expressed his strong intention to employ the personnel entrusted to him as a valuable resource on which to base his work, all the more so in times of spending review such as the current ones.
The ceremony then concluded with speeches by the Divisional General Gelao and the Brigade General Chiusaroli, respectively Head and Deputy Head for Information Policy and Satellite Telecommunications of RIS, who, pleased with the outgoing Director for the excellent results achieved, wished Colonel Cau to continue on the path of the brilliant results achieved in the positions he held previously, in the awareness of the new challenge that the country’s new economic situation imposes on us: nevertheless, we must do “more and with fewer resources”. The Inter-Forces Satellite Telecommunications Monitoring Center, established in 1994 and based in Pratica di Mare (Pomezia), has among its institutional tasks the management of the operational satellites of the multinational programs Hélios and COSMO-SkyMed, constellations equipped with electro-optical sensors and synthetic aperture radars respectively, coordinating the study, analysis and development of new applications for the exploitation of the received data. Colonel Silvio Cau was born on March 17, 1959 in Pisa; he is married and has two children. After obtaining a degree in Physics, he was appointed Lieutenant in the Corps of the Air Force in 1985 and attended the 2nd Course of Officers of the S.P.E. School of Application at the A.M. School in Florence. He obtained a specialization in Atmospheric Physics and Meteorology in 1987, attended the ISSMI Course in 1999, obtained the “Master in International Strategic and Military Studies” in 2004 and the “Master in Defense against Chemical and Biological Weapons” in 2007, and in 2007, the “Master in Satellites and Orbiting Platforms”. Colonel Cau is also the co-author of an article in the publication “Homeland Security Systems” (2009). He served at the Regional Meteorological Center of Linate, then was transferred to the 5th Allied Tactical Air Force in Vicenza and, subsequently, to the Telecommunications and Flight Support Inspectorate, before joining the General Office for Meteorology. From 2001 to 2007, he held several important positions at the Inter-Service Operational Command, including that of Representative of the COI on the Defense Space Programs Committee. From 2007 to 2009, he held the position of Head of the Satellite Systems Section of Telecommunications at the 8th Division of the Information, Telematics and Advanced Technologies Directorate, and since 2009, he has been Head of the Satellite Telemetry Office of the II Department of the General Staff of the Defense.
Colonel Cau is awarded numerous honors, including NATO Medals for operations outside the former Yugoslavia and Kosovo and the Commemorative Cross for operations contributing to maintaining international security in Afghanistan.
