CASD Defence Summit – Italian Defence Becomes a Strategic Axis

Rome, December 4 – General of the Army Corps MANNINO hosted the CASD Defence Summit promoted by the Institute of International Affairs and Sole 24 Ore, in collaboration with CASD, showcasing a country-system at a critical juncture: either Defence becomes a strategic axis of national and foreign policy, doctrinal transformation, and industrial rethinking, or Italy will accept a structural delay in global competition. From the discussions among institutional, military, and industrial leaders, three central axes emerge: politics–Defence relationship, multi-domain conflict approach, and new role of the defence industry.

National policy, foreign policy, and Defence: from “cost” to system pact

In the opening, Ambassador Michele Valensise, President of IAI, reiterated that security is no longer a separate agenda item, but the enabling condition for freedom of action and international credibility. In a context marked by the war in Ukraine, regional crises, and competition among great powers, Defence is presented as a structural theme of domestic and foreign policy, to be interpreted in a multi-domain key and interdependence with economy, energy, and technology.

This line was reinforced by the Minister of Defence Guido Crosetto, who rejected the view of Defence as a “cost” and defined it as an investment for development, stability, and international credibility. Hence the idea of a “system pact” among politics, Armed Forces, industry, and civil society, where security becomes a collective responsibility. The cyber domain, described by the National Cybersecurity Agency and the Undersecretary of Defence as a “domain of continuous conflict”, makes it clear that protecting networks and data means protecting the country.

The constant reference to NATO and European cooperation on major programs confirms an Italian Defence anchored in a Euro-Atlantic framework, where interoperability, technological sovereignty, and industrial critical mass are levers of foreign policy.

Contemporary conflict according to Masiello, Portolano, and Iannucci: multi-domain and preventive deterrence

The Chief of Staff of the Army, General Carmine Masiello, described the Ukrainian conflict as “three wars in one”: a conventional war (artillery, trenches, fortifications), a technological war (sensors, precision fires, robotics, drones), and an informational war, where narrative becomes a tool of power. The risk, he warned, is preparing for the wrong war, focusing only on the East and neglecting threats from Africa, the Middle East, and the Arctic, where instability and hybrid actors prevail.

For Masiello, the Army must become profoundly technological, integrating electronic warfare, multi-level anti-drone defense, and cyber capabilities with the reconstruction of heavy assets weakened by twenty years of expeditionary postures. On the artificial intelligence front, the general highlighted a crucial issue: the Italian Armed Forces want to keep “man in the loop”, while the adversary might not. This asymmetry in reaction times and responsibilities requires a revision of doctrine, rules of engagement, and regulatory framework.

Masiello's vision integrates with that of the Chief of Defence Staff Luciano Portolano and the Commander of COVI Giovanni Iannucci, who place everything within the paradigm of multi-domain operations. The IAI study “Multi-domain operations: towards an integrated doctrine” emphasizes that conflict is no longer won by summing capabilities, but by integrating them in real-time through resilient networks, sensors, and data.

Portolano calls for Armed Forces that are more connected (integrated command chains and permanent, distributed sensors), more agile in decision-making times, and oriented towards preventive deterrence, capable of preventing and deterring before escalation. Iannucci insists on the need for a continuous and shared situational framework among domains and Armed Forces, through an integrated command and control system.

Overall, Masiello, Portolano, and Iannucci propose a conflict approach that combines high-intensity conventional, hybrid warfare, informational dimension, and cyber domain, based on joint integration, inter-agency cooperation, and direct involvement of industry and civil society as components of the security ecosystem.

Defence industry: supply chain, human capital, and technological sovereignty

The third direction of the Summit is the need to rethink the industry–Defence relationship. The President of AIAD Giuseppe Cossiga reminded that the goal of 2% of GDP alone does not guarantee greater capabilities: if orders double, the industry must be able to double production, have qualified personnel, adequate facilities, access to credit, and strategic raw materials. Without a strengthened supply chain, the risk is an increasing dependence on foreign countries for components and systems that Italy and Europe should produce, affecting technological sovereignty and strategic resilience.

From Iveco Defence Vehicles, Avio Aero, Rheinmetall Italy, MBDA Italia, Fincantieri, and the entire sector emerges the request for a more rooted European defence supply chain less exposed to extra-EU delocalization. Deterrence is also seen as the industrial capacity to produce strategic technologies in quantities, quality, and times compatible with the threat. Major common programs – from the new battle tank to initiatives on artillery, missile systems, naval and underwater platforms – require critical mass, long-term planning, and a coordinated industrial strategy at the continental level.

On this, the theme of human capital is grafted. Pierfederico Scarpa highlighted a structural shortage of technicians, engineers, analysts, cyber operators, and advanced specialists. Without these figures, even the most sophisticated systems remain underutilized or vulnerable.

To make the sector attractive to young people, stable training programs, integrated technical and academic paths, competitive careers, and a decisive change in public narrative are needed, overcoming the demonization of the sector and recognizing its social and strategic role. The industry is therefore called to transform from a simple episodic supplier to a structural partner in building technological sovereignty and national and European deterrence capabilities.

Conclusions: a single agenda, three pillars

The common thread of the Defence Summit is the convergence of three plans that have often been separate in the past:

• National and foreign policy: assuming Defence as a strategic axis, not as a residual budget variable.
• Operational doctrine: interpreting conflict in a multi-domain, continuous, and high-intensity key, integrating the visions of Masiello, Portolano, and Iannucci.
• Defence industry: moving to a stable and structural relationship with the Defence system, strengthening supply chain, production capacities, and human capital.

In this framework, the choice is no longer whether to invest or not in Defence, but whether to do it now, in a coherent and systemic way, or to suffer the effects of future strategic shocks. The message from the Summit is clear: for Italy, the window for an urgent and accelerated political, military, and industrial transformation is open, but it will not remain so for long.