Italy’s Joint Forces Operational Command (COVI) has signed an operational agreement with the Italian Space Agency (ASI) for collaboration in the area of space.
COVI was established in 1998 as a mechanism to allow the country’s Chief of the Defence Staff to direct all operational activity of the Italian Armed Forces, which includes the country’s Space Operations Command.
The signing of the operational agreement between ASI and COVI was announced on 26 January and followed the signing of a framework agreement on 10 November 2022. The agreement outlines future collaboration between the two parties on operational space infrastructure, coordinated satellite operations, and the study of interoperable civil, dual, and military ground systems. It also allows for the sharing of data, products, and decisions relating to space operations.
“This agreement represents a strengthening of the strategic collaboration between the Defense administration and the Agency, introducing new modes of cooperation on space themes in view of the increasingly operational and interconnected dimension of the Space Domain,” said ASI president Teodoro Valente. “Today, the space sector is increasingly central and interconnected to areas related to defense, the security of citizens, and the interests of our country. The agreement signed today with the Joint Forces Operational Command represents a concrete commitment to fully exploit space resources and technologies in this important sector.”
In order to carry out the operations outlined in the agreement, an Operations Management Group will be established. The group will be composed of two representatives from each party appointed by the COVI Commander Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone and the President of ASI Teodoro Valente. The members will then elect a president, with the role rotating annually between the two parties. It will be given a two-year mandate, which the members will carry out “free of charge and without payment of any attendance fee, compensation, reimbursement or other emolument.”
