The Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force (AMI), Luca Goretti, was heard today in the Defense Committee of the Chamber of Deputies. Many topics were addressed: the need for greater economic investments to modernize fleets and guarantee training, the research-industry axis on technology in the defense sector, the development of the sixth generation Global Combat Air Program (Gcap) aircraft, with Japan and UK.

The Gcap project "was born from the natural need to replace obsolete machines. Technology is the blood that flows in the Air Force and the aeronautical tool lives thanks to it. To be relevant, defend oneself or be equal to others, software is the key of military aircraft: we need to grow our industry than create effective devices to put inside the box" aircraft, said the general.

The initiative with the British and Japanese "is an opportunity for universities and industries to be competitive and grow. The aircraft -added Goretti- is a system of systems to be hooked up to collect and disseminate data. The program is an opportunity to research, rather than military: while before we offered proposals to universities, now we tell what the threat is and this gives them the opportunity to develop ideas that serve us".

"We chose the British because it is a natural alliance linked to complex industrial dynamics in Europe: where some countries try to lay down the law. Instead, we in Italy must defend our industries: the choices of the current and previous governments are linked to the need to not annihilate the sector, but to play the game. Perhaps in the future there will be convergences with other countries".

Finally, Goretti spoke of Japan: "It is an island with different needs from ours, to be put into a system. Furthermore, NATO is a defensive alliance, but we also operate under the aegis of the UN and in the Indo-Pacific, so a technician must be prepared to make that choice credible: to this end we must operate components over long distances and guarantee training. Japan is therefore an opportunity to test the aircraft and training: evaluate travel times, the bureaucratic problems of the countries overflight. Tokyo has also chosen Italy for training and the industry-aeronautical symbiosis is also a winner for Tokyo. The Mediterranean has become a too small scenario, today we have to intervene over long distances to ensure stability for our country".