Arlington, Virginia | May 22, 2023
On May 12, Lt Gen Dave Deptula, USAF (Ret.), Dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, delivered an address at the 2023 Aerospace Power Conference in Rome, Italy. The Italian Air Force was established as a separate service on March 28th, 1923, and this gathering marked its centenary. The Italian Air Force’s top leaders, key members of the global defense community, and over 75 air chiefs from around the world attended. As a founding member of NATO, Italy and its Aeronautica Militare have proven a valuable partner and guarantor of security in the Mediterranean and Europe as a whole.
Gen Deptula’s address on “Aerospace Power and New Capabilities” highlighted the state of play in emerging technologies, as well as the necessity of providing advanced capabilities to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. As a follow-on conclusion, Gen Deptula emphasized the necessity of preparing for a future conflict with China, stating that “Air Forces seize on the virtues of air and space to project power without projecting vulnerability, and as a result, aerospace power can provide us with strategic alternatives simply not available any other way.”
See his full remarks, available at the link below.
