Satellites, start of the smart factory: 100 million investment

When fully operational from the plant, in the heart of the Tecnopolo Tiburtino, a technological park of excellence on the eastern outskirts of Rome, 100 satellites per year - about two per week - will be delivered to the market once the 'machine' becomes operational by the end of the year. It is a perfect example of a public-private partnership, since the investment of over 100 million to realise it is the result of the assistance between the Pnrr funds, managed by the Italian Space Agency, and the efforts of private individuals.

It was no coincidence that the new space smart factory designed by Thales Alenia Space - the Franco-Italian joint venture in which Thales and Leonardo hold a stake - was christened by the Head of State, Sergio Mattarella, who arrived in the heart of the capital's 'Silicon Valley' to cut the ribbon with the Minister for Enterprise and Italian-made products, Adolfo Urso, who gave a clear endorsement to the operation, which he described as 'the jewel among the space smart factories built so far in Italy with the resources of the NRP', which are the Argotec plants in San Mauro Torinese, Cesi in Milan and Sitael in Mola di Bari.

In short, a network of interconnected factories called upon to project Italy into an 'unmissable' market, explained Leonardo's CEO Roberto Cingolani, who spoke of over 10,000 satellites ready to be launched in the next few years and who emphasised, once again, the group's desire to seek alliances beyond its borders. We will not stop believing in a European defence space,' stressed the CEO, not before once again rejecting the accusations levelled at Leonardo of selling armaments to Israel and of complicity in the conflict in Gaza ('we have not sold a single bolt to Israel since the conflict began,' the top manager remarked).

With regard to the open game with Thales and Airbus for the launch of a strategic partnership on satellites (renamed the 'Bromo' project), Cingolani was optimistic. The timeframe for a preliminary signature 'could be a matter of days or weeks: the boards are looking at the numbers, I hope it will be done,' the CEO clarified: 'I have already informed the board, and as soon as we have a clear idea of the three, we will convene an extraordinary board meeting. The agreement does not seem so far away, but caution is a must, also because, as Cingolani himself explained, the industrial agreement must then receive the approval of the governments 'who make assessments not only on technology and business but also on national issues.

While waiting for the green light on Bromo, if an agreement can be reached that does not disgruntle anyone, Leonardo is enjoying this important result, which, as its president Stefano Pontecorvo explained, will be 'a system infrastructure available to the entire space sector supply chain and in total connection with the sector's SMEs', and will enable Italy - 'one of the few countries in the world,' says Massimo Claudio Comparini, managing director of Leonardo's Space division and president of Thales Alenia Space, 'to boast a presence throughout the entire space production chain' - to further consolidate its leadership.