Loitering munitions are nothing new on the battlefield, but cheaper versions could soon be a game-changer. They first started to appear in the 1980s as Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) weapons, and they were soon dubbed as “suicide drones” and “kamikaze drones”.
Following years of financial instability, the Italian Armed Forces now lack competitiveness and preparedness on the technological aspect. According to the think tank Centro Studi Internationali (CeSI), this struggle has been mostly due to funds for procurement given to fulfil modernization in navy and air forces but not for the Army.
The long negotiations between Italy and France, started in January 2018 with President Macron’s visit to Italy’s Paolo Gentiloni, have reached their final act. After troubled years, the rise and fall of a Populist government in Italy, the pandemic, and various tensions between Italy and France, the Quirinale Treaty – named after the Italian Presidential palace in Rome – has been signed, signalling a new phase of bilateral cooperation between the two countries (Roberts, Leali, 2021).
Italy and France are committed to developing a new generation of air defence missile system. On 19 March 2021, the Director of the Organisation for Joint Armament Co-operation (OCCAR), Admiral Matteo Bisceglia, signed the contract with the Italian French consortium Eurosam for the development of the next generation of surface-to-air medium-range defence system SAMP/T NG. The agreement involving the industries of these two countries was signed at the Paris office of the OCCAR on behalf of the Italian SEGREDIFESA/DNA and the French Direction Générale de l’Armement.
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