On the occasion of the tenth anniversary of GIAS, organised at Pratica di Mare, the workshop “Experimentation in the space domain: new horizons and opportunities”
The workshop, entitled, was held on Wednesday, 30 October, at the “Mario De Bernardi” Auditorium of the Air Experimentation Aviation and Space Division in Pratica di Mare. “Experimentation in the space domain: new horizons and opportunities”, organised for the tenth anniversary of Aerospace Engineering Group (GIAS) from the Experimental Flight Department (RSV), to explore the frontiers of space technologies.
The event brought together an audience of experts, from institutional, military, industrial and academic sectors, with the aim of examining the challenges and opportunities that await Italy in space.
The proceedings were opened by Air Divisional General Luciano Ippoliti, Commander of the Aeronautical and Space Experimental Air Division, and the Air Force Corps General Antonio Conserva, Logistics Commander, who highlighted the importance of the event, remarking how “Spatial Domain has also made its appearance in the Code of Military Ordering, identifying an area in which the Ministry of Defence will have to operate for the protection of national territory and free institutions.”.
Following this, Lt. Col. Jacopo Paoli, Commander of GIAS, outlined the Group's mission, recalling how innovation in the Aerospace field is essential for maintaining Italian competitiveness.
Colonel Luigi Riggio, Head of the Support, Coordination, and Secretariat Unit of the Interministerial Committee for Policies relating to Space and Aerospace Research, then took the floor. He outlined the national perspective on space policies, detailing strategies to strengthen Italy's role in the sector.
The programme included two moments of vibrant and insightful discussion. In the first panel, the Chief Inspector Luca De Martinis (Information Technology Directorate and Advanced Technologies) Dr. Marco Detratti European Commission, Mr A. Tofalo (formerly Undersecretary of State for Defence) and the Dr Gabriella Arrigo (Italian Space Agency) have tackled the Emerging threats in the space sector in the new geopolitical context. Subsequently, Engineer Tommaso Ghidini the European Space Agency has outlined the strategic challenges of the coming decades with a look at New frontiers of the Moon and Mars.
The second panel brought the main key players in the system's development to the stage. Italian Space Operations Centre (ISOC), software developed at GIAS specifically for monitoring and tracking objects in Earth's orbit. In particular, the following took part: T/Col. Fabio Monaci (Air Staff - Directorate General for Space), the’Ing. Domenico Vigilante (Leonardo company) and the Professor Pierluigi Di Lizia (Politecnico di Milano) and Giancarmine Fasano (University Federico II of Naples) who discussed the next steps for developing new effective capabilities for the defence of space infrastructure.
It Chief Inspector General Giuseppe Lupoli, Head of the Air Force Engineering Corps, as well as Director of the Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness of Segredifesa (General Secretariat for Defence) then highlighted, during his speech, the’the evolution of aeronautical engineering as a fundamental tool for Italian leadership in space.
The event concluded with a “Call for Ideas,” dedicated to project proposals from industry, start-ups, and universities, with the aim of creating a forum for discussion of ideas and cooperation. A total of 12 proposals were presented with the goal of developing new collaborations for increasingly innovative aerospace technologies, demonstrating the growing interest of the civilian world in Military Aeronautics and, specifically in this context, for the Experimental Flight Department.
The D.A.S.A.S. It represents the first and only example in Italy of the rationalisation and centralisation into a single structure of the individual study and experimentation centres dependent on an Armed Force. An Entity that, in synergy with national and international aeronautical excellences, carries out activities of study, experimentation, testing, technical-operational evaluation and research support, for new aeronautical weapon systems, also for the benefit of other Armed Forces and/or State Armed Bodies, when required. The Aeronautical and Space Experimentation Air Division also ensures technical-logistical, administrative and operational support to the Air Force Entities/Departments located on the airport site, as well as to the Entities of other Armed Forces and State Armed Bodies present. Finally, it ensures the necessary services for the safe and effective conduct of flight activities and the management of activities related to the reception, embarkation and disembarkation of personnel, materials and means arriving at and departing from Pratica di Mare airport.
Among the Departments dependent on the DASAS, the Experimental Flight Department has the task of supporting the Air Force Operations Departments through the experimentation, it development, the’integration and the Validation of new weapon systems or those that have been modified. In response, furthermore, to the changing geopolitical, social, and economic context, the RSV has given a significant boost to activities supporting Operational Units, essentially through the tool of operational technical certification which allows for the rapid and autonomous implementation of Technological solutions able to meet new requirements in hostile theatres.
