From the Samp/T to the sixth-generation fighter, to the F35: here is Crosetto's plan for defence

Air defence, but also tanks, new F-35s, and the development of strategic capabilities in the space and cyber sectors. These are the areas on which, according to the indications provided on Thursday 7 November by the Minister of Defence Defence Guido Crosetto at the hearing before the Senate Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee on the Multiannual Defence Planning Document for the three-year period 2024-2026, "it was intended to intervene more decisively".

"The guiding thread,' said Crosetto, 'remains that of the strategic programmes, which bring together the development needs of the Armed Forces and the production capacities of national industry, with a view to a positive impact on the national economic fabric. The rationale is now well established: to use, where possible, the national production apparatus as a tool to meet the needs of the Armed Forces and pursue the development of future technologies'. "In addition to the well-established operational programming," he continued, "there are 20 programmes planned to be launched, for a total financial commitment in the three-year period 2024-2026 of around EUR 28.5 billion.

The minister listed the areas on which Defence has focused its attention. Starting with 'the continuation of the modernisation of the national air and missile defence capability, also with a view to acquiring an adequate number of Samp/T systems, of which the new generation will soon enter into service, now considered fundamental, also in light of the lessons learnt from the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East'. "We are waiting for the Samp-T anti-missile systems, and I have repeatedly become angry with the private industry that produces them because 18 months for one system is too long,'' Crosetto said. I have been waiting for a year and a half for the production line to be doubled and work has not yet begun. The defence industry has to evolve,' he said.

On this subject, it should be mentioned that the minister recently announced that he had ordered 10 next-generation Samp/T systems. Italy has already supplied two of these anti-missile batteries to Ukraine. It is therefore unlikely that in the tenth aid package for Kiev, which is being defined these days and should be approved by the government between the end of this year and the beginning of next year (and in any case before Donald Trump takes office), an additional Samp/T will be included. Granting Ukraine an additional Samp/T would mean jeopardising Italy's defence capability.

In his speech, the minister also spoke of 'the modernisation of the heavy land component, through the pursuit of several parallel and simultaneous lines of action, such as the renewal of some platforms already in use (the Ariete tanks), the acquisition of