The general of the army Luciano Portolano63 years old, is the general secretary of the Ministry of Defense and national director of armaments.
Can we say, General, in light of the return of conventional warfare in Europe, that the transformation of the Italian Armed Forces can no longer be postponed?
«It is certainly necessary to face an adaptation process that touches all aspects. A change that must take into account the evolution of conflicts into true hybrid warfare.”
Are you concerned that both the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific, both areas of direct interest for Italy, are no longer immune from the cycle of international instability?
“Neither the Indo-Pacific nor the Mediterranean have ever been immune. What is worrying, rather, is the dangerous spiral of escalation we are witnessing. The two regions are strongly interconnected and we have proof of this from the consequences of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea which are negatively impacting the economies of our countries”.
Today marks 761 days since the war in Ukraine began and there is no end in sight.
“The stalemate is there for all to see. To date, Moscow’s intention to launch a ground offensive is not certain, but what is more likely is that Russia seems intent on aiming for a conflict of attrition, in the belief that, in the long term , Western public opinions will get tired with possible defections among the ranks of Kiev’s supporting countries.”
Should Europe do more to help Ukraine in terms of armaments? It’s Italy?
«Europe has maintained a cohesive response and Italy has already provided 8 aid packages so far. The main theme, however, is that we find ourselves in a situation in which Europe and Italy are asked to provide support in terms of systems, weapons and ammunition in a war context, without at the same time adopting a war economy , what Russia did instead. In this sense, the superiority in production capacity of the Russian war industry compared to the European one is objective, so much so that difficulties are encountered in guaranteeing constant support for Ukrainian needs for ammunition and weapons systems. For this reason, we are moving, both within NATO and within the EU, to improve the productivity of our industries: with common funds, procurement jointly between countries, development of industrial aggregations”.
Are you in favor of the return of the mandatory army?
«I don’t think it’s a viable solution in Italy today. We live in difficult times in which serious and trained professionals are needed. The Armed Forces need cyber experts, engineers even hackers. Parliament’s delegation to the government for the project to create an auxiliary state reserve gives us hope.”
Is allocating 2% of GDP for defense spending too much or too little?
«As decided by the NATO countries at the Vilnius summit (July 2023, ed) allocating 2% of GDP to defense spending is considered the starting point, no longer a point of arrival. Investing in Defense and aspiring to have an adequately sized, balanced and technologically advanced military instrument means investing in stability and security or creating the conditions for the peace and well-being of our country and our allies”.
