A Look at New Strategies in Defense Research, Technology

The chapter held a February conference titled "Research and Technology in Defense and Aerospace: Strategies and Actions" to analyze new perspectives on research derived from the European fund for research recently established by the European Commission. Lt. Gen. Antonio Tangorra, ITAF, chapter president, introduced the conference, emphasizing the relevance of funding to sustain the acquisition of new strategic competencies in Europe. He also welcomed new chapter board members elected during the annual meeting in December. Col. Mario Toscano, ITAF, spoke about the main aspects of the European Defense Action Plan (EDAP). EDAP foresees a suite of fiscal benefits for developing common capabilities at the European level. Giuseppe Tortora of the Segredifesa V Department gave an expanded view of the Preparatory Action on Defense Research (PADR) in "EU Initiatives and Tools to Support Research and Development in Defense." Charalampos Giannakopoulos of the European Commission presented "European Defense Fund: The Research Window," offering an overview of the fund, which represents a first step toward a common defense. Claudio Costa of Studio Torta discussed aspects of industrial property within the European agreements, focusing on patents, know-how, background and results. Mario Giacobbo Scavo of Value Services described available instruments for companies-mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)-to benefit from Industry 4.0 and Horizon 2020 opportunities. Alberto Tuozzi of the Italian Space Agency provided examples of technology transfer and common space integrated services in his presentation. The integration of satellite systems such as Galileo, GLONASS and Beidou is one of the first representations of common global goods, with an economic return for countries investing in these platforms and services. Angela Vozella of CIRA, which supports the aerospace and space enterprise in Italy, introduced the research institution, which is involved in many international projects. Gen. Tangorra concluded the conference by thanking all participants.

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