Roberto Cingolani: “Time for Common Defence Alliances. Let's focus on AI”

10 June 2024

In strategic sectors such as Defence, Space and energy, it is essential to consider European alliances to compete with the United States and China. Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani said this during the forum held by Il Messaggero on the future of European Defence. The article published in the newspaper organising the event is dedicated to his speech.

In a global context marked by tensions and conflicts, the common European Defence theme is more central than ever, despite the difficulties due to the different national security policies of the Member States. As Roberto Cingolani points out, 'In Europe we have a fragmented market. No national company, even a large one, can compete alone with the American or Chinese giants'.

A scenario in which it is important for companies in the sector to look to combined initiatives, joint ventures, and rationalisations to put some assets in common. According to Cingolani, “the sustainability of these initiatives depends half on the sustainability of technological synergies and half on political-institutional sustainability”.

To face the new challenges imposed by the geopolitical scenario, the commitment to technological development will be a key factor. From this perspective, Roberto Cingolani highlights the centrality of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, and suggests the creation of “a government cloud, which can protect and safeguard important data: health, defence and financial data”.