Politique Internationale — The Italian Navy plays a leading role in the Euro-Mediterranean area. As a world-class navy, it is also present on an international scale. What are the main demands you face?
Admiral Enrico Credendino — The Italian Navy addresses maritime defense and security challenges with a multi-dimensional comprehensive approach, working alongside the other national defense branches and components, and all the expressions of the national maritime power - in a broader sense - in order to properly and extensively protect national interests. One of our Navy’s major peculiarities is its expeditionary force capabilities, notably the Carrier Strike Group and the Amphibious Task Group, that enable us to operate far away from our borders. This means that our naval assets can be pre-positioned where and when needed for extensive periods, at great distances from national borders, in crisis areas or where threats to national interests may arise. This institutional function can be performed thanks to operational flexibility and logistical autonomy, combined with the ability to acquire and maintain a reliable and up-to-date awareness of the maritime domain (above, over, and below the sea surface).
P. I. — How do you compare with other Navies?
E. C. — More than comparing ourselves, we believe that international cooperation is a key guiding principle for all navies. Given the complexity of the present scenario, and as emerged in the outcomes of the last Trans-Regional Naval Symposium of Venice, cooperation is the most effective tool to strengthen bonds among partners and like-minded navies. As a matter of fact, no one succeeds alone.
We are spreading the values of maritime history and culture worldwide, to promote Italian manufacturing excellence, and to consolidate cooperation with all the countries visited during the Amerigo Vespucci World Tour campaign, (a nearly two-year voyage, calling at 40 ports, and visiting 30 countries on 5 continents).
At the same time, last June we began the Italian Carrier Strike Group (ITA CSG) campaign in the Indo-Pacific region, with the aim of strengthening and expanding relationships and cooperation with key stakeholders in the region, as well as pursuing strategic objectives. These include maintaining a naval presence in the region, in support of priority national interests, and in line with foreign policy guidelines as well as with the policies of relevant Alliances (in fact, the deployment of the ITA CSG follows those of the British and French CSGs); developing synergies/interactions with partners and allies in the area, in particular with the UK and France’s Carrier Strike Groups; conducting naval diplomacy to launch new partnerships; achieving the 5th generation aircraft IOC (Initial Operation Capability) and increasing training returns in the operation of the CSG in remote areas, to consolidate the expeditionary and sea basing concepts.
P. I. — Maritime lines of communication have never been so threatened, with severe economic consequences. Do these new forms of conflict influence the Italian Navy’s priorities?
E. C. — The increasing threats to sea lines of communication (SLOCs) indeed pose significant challenges for navies worldwide, including the Italian Navy. These threats include traditional maritime piracy and more modern challenges such as asymmetric warfare, terrorism, and state-sponsored aggression in the form of cyber- attacks or “interferences” with shipping routes.
The Italian Navy has always deployed its assets when and where necessary, to protect national interests, adapting tactics at sea in order to effectively address these challenges, always keeping the rudder firmly on our priorities. New scenarios have brought us to develop Enhanced Maritime Security Operations. This includes increased patrols, intelligence gathering, and cooperation with international partners in joint maritime security initiatives; Investments in Technology and Cybersecurity, including the development of capabilities to detect and mitigate cyber threats targeting maritime infrastructures and communication systems; and the development of Partnerships and Multinational Cooperation.
P. I. — Underwater space is still a largely unexplored area. Technological innovation, with autonomous systems in particular, offers the means to expand the range of interventions. How is the Italian Navy approaching this situation?
E. C. — The underwater dimension of the maritime domain is a new frontier of confrontation, considering the growing interests that modern society has underwater (98% of digital communications propagate through marine ridges, leaving the remaining 2% being satellite-based “mobile” communications). To increase our ability to control and protect the underwater operational environment, the Italian Navy has identified three lines of effort that depict our Underwater Strategy: operations and partnerships, technological development and the legal framework.
P. I. — Let’s start with operations…
E. C. — Immediately after the explosions occurred in September 2022 in the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the Italian Navy launched Operation “Fondali sicuri” in order to ensure the protection of our underwater vital interests. For this operation, the Navy relies on a well-balanced and effective capability based on surface combatant vessels, submarines, naval aviation, minehunters, unmanned vehicles (ROV and AUV), special forces, marines and coastal sensors. At the same time, the Italian Navy has set up the Critical Underwater Infrastructure Security Centre, integrated in the multi-domain operational control centre at the Navy HQ. This Centre is the heart of a cooperation network among all the stakeholders and operators of the underwater environment, involving specific agreements among relevant players in communications, energy sectors and research institutes. The aim is to develop a partnership that will permit us to work together, increasing mutual knowledge, sharing information, developing common procedures and enhancing underwater situational awareness and security.
P. I. — In terms of technology, what areas are you focusing on?
E. C. — The Italian Navy is developing new capabilities by fostering a new model of innovation along with private companies and academia. With new constructions already under way, for example the project “Near Future Submarine”, and future programs, such as new generation Mine Hunters with relevant seabed warfare capabilities, we intend to further raise our proficiency to operate underwater and on the seabed.
We are also going to augment our capabilities through the development of unmanned assets and seabed sensors, taking also into account their integration with conventional platforms and the need to develop a proper underwater communication infrastructure. The underwater network will be essential to integrate conventional platforms, unmanned assets and fixed sensor as a system of systems in a unique and effective Command and Control framework.
The Italian government launched the “Polo Nazionale della Dimensione Subacquea (PNS)”, based in La Spezia, close to NATO CMRE. This National Hub is aimed at capitalizing the basket of national innovation capabilities in the entire underwater sector. This initiative, led by the Navy, is meant to be a strategic asset open to Universities, Research & Development Centres, major companies, small-medium enterprises and start-ups.
P. I. — Why is it so important to provide a legal framework?
E. C. — With the ongoing technological innovations, man’s ability and willingness to operate in the depths have increased, increasing the risk of potential interferences and threats. Therefore, it is essential to establish procedures and rules - both at national and international level - in order to coordinate and control these underwater activities. This duty should be performed by a single operational centre, responsible for every activity in waters subject to national authority. For this reason, at national level, we are working on the establishment of a National Authority for Underwater Activities, charged with centralizing and handling all requests for access to underwater spaces. With this unique reference organization, underwater operations will be safer and a better Recognized Underwater Picture will be established and synchronized, particularly near critical infrastructures.
P. I. — Interoperability has become a key word in the military vocabulary. Can this multi-field, multi-environment approach be seen as a new horizon for the Italian Navy? Does it make any difference to the choice of operations and/or partners?
E. C. — In terms of specific partnerships and collaborations, NATO and EU are the main references for the Italian Navy. Moreover, the Italian Navy also takes part in various international initiatives and exercises. Among the many coalitions and alliances we operate within, I would like to underline our continuous commitment in the NWIO (North West Indian Ocean) area along with Operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta (EU operation to contribute to the maritime security in the NWIO), Aspides (EU military operation contributing to the protection of freedom of navigation, to safeguarding maritime security, especially for merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean and the Gulf) and with our partners in EMASoH Agenor (European-led Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz; operation Agenor provides surveillance capabilities in the SoH area in order to establish maritime situational awareness), in order to collectively counter piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean and to protect SLOCs from the Red Sea to the Bab-El- Mandeb Strait, the Gulf of Aden and the Arabic Gulf.
P. I. — Men and women are the lifeblood of an organization like a navy. But how can they find their place in an environment marked by technological acceleration? To what extent is artificial intelligence changing decision-making processes?
E. C. — We all live in a technology-driven society, and of course the military is no exception. Growing technological applications are conceived for military use, all kinds of autonomous systems are finding space aboard our ships and we are still learning how to best use them. Nevertheless, our personnel, our crews are still and will remain the core and the beating heart of the Italian Navy Units.
The Commanding Officer (CO) of a ship - especially a military ship - will never be replaced by a machine, but will definitively be supported by Artificial Intelligence applications, in order to manage complex decision-making processes, sorting and analysing vast amounts of data, suggesting the best / optimal courses of action, but always leaving the last decision to the CO.
P. I. — Finally, let’s talk about the environmental aspect. What projects has the Italian Navy undertaken to improve its ecological footprint?
E. C. — The Italian Navy is also actively working to reduce its environmental impact through several initiatives. The first to be mentioned is the “Green Fleet” project, which aims to improve energy efficiency across the fleet by implementing modern technologies like LED lighting, optimized engine management systems, and so- called “cold ironing” for moored ships. The Italian Navy is also exploring the feasibility of integrating renewable energy sources (solar panels) on board and ashore, in order to decrease reliance on fossil fuels and to promote clean energy usage.
At the same time, waste management strategies are implemented on board and ashore including extensive use of recycling, to minimize waste generation and promote individual responsibility.
We are also part of marine projects aimed at minimizing noise and pollution, and mapping microplastics in the sea. Finally, the Italian Navy is also replacing its old (Cassiopea Class) Offshore Patrol Vessels (already equipped with maritime anti-pollution systems) with newer ships equipped with the same renewed capability.
Our Navy is strongly committed to reducing its ecological footprint, by implementing sustainable practices and adopting environmental regulations.