On 16 January, as a testament to the fruitful collaboration between Italy and Japan, already developed in various fields and progressively consolidated also in the space domain, a delegation from Japan Air Self-Defence Force (JASDF) visited the Aerospace Operations Command (AOC) within the scope of 2° Space Working Group, in continuity with the cooperation initiated following the signing of the Declaration of Intent by the respective Chiefs of Staff and with the first meeting held in Japan in October of last year.
The delegation was welcomed by the Commander of the COA, Air Divisional General Luca Maineri and from Commander of C-SSA, Col. Francesco Santucci, together with the Centre's staff. In this context, the Parties confirmed their mutual interest in pursuing shared strategic objectives, recognising space as a sector of primary importance for security and defence. General Maineri, in particular, highlighted “the need to continue on the path of consolidating the existing cooperation, as the space domain increasingly configures itself as an enabler of multi-domain operations”.
Puose of the 2° Space Working Group was to identify possible further synergies and the consolidation of the content of the Technical Agreement currently under negotiation. At the close of the proceedings, the subsequent phases of bilateral cooperation were outlined, with particular reference to strengthening information exchange in the field Space Situational Awareness, to the development of interoperability, to the evolution towards structured operational collaboration, and to the planning of the 3rd Space Working Group and the first joint Italian-Japanese space exercise.
On the sidelines of the meeting, the delegation had the opportunity to visit the SSA Centre's control room and the new control room of the National Air and Space Operations Centre, where the activity carried out by the COA within air and space operations has been illustrated.
It Centro Space Situational Awareness, The interforce entity with Aeronautica Militare as lead, is dependent on the Aerospace Operations Command (COA) in Poggio Renatico and is responsible for monitoring, surveillance and characterisation of space objects and their operational environment to support safe, stable and sustainable space activities, identifying risks and threats in space, from space and towards space, and proposing appropriate mitigation measures. The Centre is responsible for “Re-Entry” and “Fragmentation” services for the European Space Surveillance and Tracking (EU-SST) Partnership and ”Collision Avoidance" for national space assets. The CSSA operates within the framework of a national agreement involving collaboration between the Aeronautica Militare, the Ministry of Defence, the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF).
