“We live in an era of profound geopolitical, technological and strategic transformations that confirm the need for professionalism and readiness,” said Mattarella to a delegation from the Italian Air Force at the Quirinale.

“Global tensions, the competition - rather chaotic, in truth - between powers for world domination, the wait to resolve the conventional conflict in Europe, the new hybrid threats from cyber warfare to the strategic use of space are altering the context of rules laboriously built by the international community after the Second World War.

“The world of airspace and its defence is rapidly evolving,” he added.

“Military modifications, the introduction of artificial intelligence in military operations and the growing threats that derive from an unscrupulous use of the space domain are all elements that represent challenges that cannot be avoided.”

ANSA