“Man and technology. Tribute to the universal genius ". This is the title of the 2019 Army Calendar, presented yesterday in the historic Palazzo della Cancelleria, in the heart of Rome. Many military, civil and religious authorities were present, starting with the Army Chief of Staff, General Salvatore Farina, the Undersecretary of State for Defense Hon. Raffaele Volpi, the president of the Defense Commission of the Chamber of Deputies Hon. Gianluca Rizzo, the president of Leonardo Spa Giovanni De Gennaro, the Attorney General of the State Massimo Massella Ducci Teri, some members of the Central Council of Military Representation (COCER), the ten. with the. Gianfranco Paglia and many students of the Salvini high school in Rome. The event was presented by journalists Roberto Giacobbo and Flavia Fratello.
The calendar of the Italian Army this year is dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci, who died in France, in Amboise, on 2 May 1519, just 500 years ago. Leonardo the humanist, the genius par excellence, who conceived and designed many machines and systems that we use today, thanks to his intuitions, both in the civil and military fields.
"In previous years, rightly, the calendar focused on the Great War”, Explained Army Chief of Staff, Army Corps General Salvatore Farina. "The idea of the calendar is to transmit the values of the Army. We were inspired by Leonardo because it contains all the artistic, scientific and above all human virtues".
Man and technology go hand in hand and in a changing world, with wars that are becoming increasingly asymmetric, there is a need for the soldier to have adequate protections to perform his task better and not only on armored vehicles but also as individual protection. It is the Sic, the Individual combat system, which provides technologically advanced equipment and integrates sensors with armaments and command and control devices, to optimize tactical use and ensure protection, survival, and nighttime mobility. The Sic opens the calendar, is the month of January, is the contemporary response to the "soldier with the wheels", Leonardo's robot, to which the humanist held so much that he had hidden it in several parts inside the Atlantic Code, as Roberto Giacobbo recalled. Not to mention that the Army is now required to be highly flexible also in terms of dual use. In the other months, other Leonardo prototypes and modern achievements, from the VTMM Bear to the Lince 2, from the Army Aviation helicopters to the Fob protection tower.
"The Army has man and woman, of whatever rank, at the center of our efforts. On the cover of the calendar is the Vitruvian man, with open arms inside the circle, which is also the coat of arms of the Army", Underlined the gen. Flour. "Man and technology go together. In the calendar we put Leonardo's drawings together with the means supplied - or soon to be - of the Italian Army. This also means that the Army, with its men and resources and the resources we will have available, with the values that distinguish us, there will always be ...", Concluded General Farina.
Leonardo Spa is the main sponsor of the 2019 CalendEs army: "In the calendar the drawings of Leonardo were compared with what is the work tool of the soldiers”Observed the president of Leonardo Spa Giovanni De Gennaro. "Today we have to look at invention as a social fact. In reality, technological innovation invests more and more players, up to the end user. We have to see it as a growing spiral and not a straight line. And being present in this innovation means being present in the growth of the country ...".
"Here they have the presence of our companies and we have a history of values that our country must find at the highest level with pride, awareness and determination. It is the ability to be protagonists"- the final intervention of the Undersecretary of Defense on. Raffaele Volpi (photo).
"Today we have seen that our history cannot be reduced to commercials, on the contrary. And that the whole country system must, can and is capable of investing in technology. Today the Armed Forces are required to be not only technological but also protagonists in those theaters where their skills are always recognized ... Our Armed Forces have a soul and a positive attitude in the face of the most difficult situations, as well as a great professionalism and this is recognized internationally. And they are among the few who are prepared to tackle delicate topics such as violence against women and children ... The Italian country system is also together with the Armed Forces and is capable of looking to the future in the technological, defense and industrial fields, without stopping ...", Concluded the Hon. Volpi.
