Saudi Arabia: rumours of a reduction in Italian aircraft and military personnel. Crosetto: measures to improve fighter jet security

Fears of an escalation in Saudi Arabia are causing concern within the Government. A summit was held at Palazzo Chigi, chaired by Under-Secretary Alfredo Mantovano, to discuss the next moves in the Red Sea. In attendance were the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, and senior figures from the intelligence services and the Armed Forces. The government led by Giorgia Meloni is pursuing a two-pronged objective: to minimise the risks to our assets and military personnel stationed at Saudi bases, and to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safe passage of Italian cargo ships through the Strait of Bal el-Mandeb.

This is the background to the terse statement issued by sources at Palazzo Chigi who announced the summit, describing the meeting as ‘an opportunity to take stock and share an update on military and intelligence matters relating to the world’s main crisis hotspots’.

“This afternoon, at Palazzo Chigi, together with the Chief of the Defence Staff, General Luciano Portolano, and the Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral Rear Admiral Fabio Gregori, we took stock of the operational situation regarding Italian missions, with particular reference to the Middle East theatre,” reads a statement from the Defence Minister. “Assessments are currently underway, with the main focus on the safety of our contingents and our national presence in the area. As also stated by the Houthi spokesperson, there was no intention to target an Italian asset. Meanwhile, measures have been taken to enhance the security of all assets, particularly those in the air. In any case, the continuity of operational activities will be ensured, in accordance with the international commitments undertaken through participation in Inherent Resolve and the protection of our personnel.”

Crosetto will appear at Question Time in the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday at 3 pm. The opposition parties are set to formally submit, in the coming hours, a request for a statement regarding what happened to the Italian Eurofighter F-2000 fighter jet, which was hit and damaged during the night between last Thursday and Friday, in an attack on the Ta’if airbase, in Saudi Arabia.

It was precisely the Houthi raids that were at the heart of the discussion with Mantovano. Lips are sealed, but it is understood that the proposal – first reported in *La Repubblica* – for a partial withdrawal of Italian military aircraft from Ta’if, starting with the most expensive ones, was endorsed: the four-engine C-130J cargo planes, which could be moved to Riyadh or the Emirates, to less exposed locations, and above all the Gulfstream CAEW radar aircraft, capable of monitoring events within a 500-kilometre radius.