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TL;DR

Italy has opted to plug into Starlink’s live network rather than wait until 2030 for the EU’s IRIS² system, accepting the risks of a privately controlled service to secure communications now and planning to merge that stopgap with future sovereign and commercial constellations for a more resilient mix.

A Masterclass in Procrastination While Italy Dials Up SpaceX Starlink

IRIS² (Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity, and Security by Satellite), the EU’s promise of satellite autonomy, is set to launch by 2030, assuming no delays. Meanwhile, Starlink and Starshield, already operational, are proving the concept of a functional satellite network today.

But Italy, the land of pragmatic pasta and now pragmatic space policy, seems to have asked a simple question: Why wait?
Rather than sitting patiently for Brussels to get its bureaucratic act together, Italy has embraced the Starlink network for immediate defense and communication needs.

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