The Navy has promoted an information path for the staff of foreign attachments accredited in Italy. The aim of the initiative is to consolidate professional and personal relationships with foreign military attachés and illustrate the capabilities of the Navy in sectors of excellence, facilitate the start of new collaborations or expand those already in place. A journey to get to know the "Country System" and its national industrial positioning, through visits to the offices and factories of some private companies and excellences relating to the so-called "Defense System".
The activity, spread over four intense days of visits and meetings, saw the group of 20 employees from 18 different nations arrive first in Livorno, where the DRASS GROUP, an important national industrial reality and reference in underwater technologies, was visited. The team then went to the Naval Academy, custodian of a route that unites past and future, which in over 140 years of life, since 6 November 1881, has trained over 10.300 officers of the normal courses, over 34.000 officers of the auxiliary courses and of complement and direct appointment, providing an education of the highest level.
On the second day of the visit, the group of foreign employees was welcomed at the joint study center for military applications (CISAM) for an informative visit, during which the capabilities and peculiarities, the current programs and those under development of the center were illustrated. The guests had the opportunity to visit the laboratories ofelectroptics office and in the anechoic chamber of theelectromagnetic compatibility office.
The journey then continued towards La Spezia. First stop, the helicopter station of the Luni Navy, where they had the opportunity to visit the training center for survival at sea and forced ditching, a structure that represents a reference capacity for the advanced training of flight crews of both the Navy and other Armed Forces (national and foreign), together with the full crew mission simulator (FCMS) of the EH-101 helicopter.
Also visited were the INTERMARINE SpA shipyards which, in nearby Sarzana, design and build naval vessels for commercial and military uses, such as minehunters and 2 high-speed multipurpose units (UNPAV) for the Special Forces.
The journey then continued at FINCANTIERI's Muggiano factory, in whose grounds the new shipbuilding equipment center (MARINALLES), a center of excellence of the Navy where technical skills consolidated over the years are developed and which, today, represent a particularly important asset for the preparation of new units. Foreign militaries were therefore able to appreciate the processes of fitting out and bringing the new ships online, characterized by the coordination of a plurality of actors and interconnected, coordinated and harmonized activities. In the afternoon, however, a visit took place to two local industrial entities of international scope in the military industrial field, namely the MBDA and LEONARDO Difesa factories.
In conclusion, the foreign military attachés were received at the naval support and testing center (CSSN), a center of excellence in the military and civil sectors, with unique capabilities and skills on the national scene. During the visit, the capabilities and peculiarities of the Center were illustrated, followed by a tour of the laboratories where tests, analyzes and measurements are carried out in the field of applied chemistry and explosives, materials technology, the environment, naval architecture , radar/infrared signature and electromagnetic compatibility.
The trip was particularly appreciated by the users, to the benefit of dialogue and international cooperation.
