The Italian Ministry of Defence plays a crucial role in Italy's space activities, primarily focused on national security and strategic capabilities. It oversees the General Space Office and the Command for Space Operations and collaborates with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) on projects of common interest, such as the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, which provides Earth observation services for both military and civilian use. It partners with companies like Leonardo, Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio for development of satellite systems like SICRAL for secure communications.
All verified mentions of this organization in source documents.
Telespazio will be responsible for the SICRAL 3 ground segment, developed in conjunction with current SICRAL infrastructures at the Italian Ministry of Defense Control Center in Vigna di Valle and the Fucino Space Center.
The joint constellation includes five COSMO-SkyMed and COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation dual-use SAR satellites owned by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence.
The Italian Ministry of Defense awarded Thales Alenia Space and Telespazio a contract to build the Sicral 3 secure satellite and ground system.
The Italian Ministry of Defense has been using Ovzon’s service since 2020.
Israel Aerospace Industries built the Italian Ministry of Defence’s Optsat-3000 satellite.
Thales Alenia Space will leverage its experience with Cosmo-SkyMed, a four-satellite constellation funded by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence that launched between 2007 and 2010.