The seminar ” Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technologies and applications” was held from 9am to 12pm (Italian time) on 6 June . Synergies between Vietnam and Italy ” in which over 100 people participated, both in person, at Casa Italia in Hanoi, and online, animating an interesting technical-scientific debate on the potential application of Synthetic Aperture Radar for space applications and beyond .

The ability to observe objects in particular meteorological conditions (such as clouds and precipitation) and the possibility of obtaining high spatial resolution images thanks to post-processing make these technologies particularly interesting not only for purely spatial applications, but for the various applications of New Space Economy, first of all environmental/urban prevention and monitoring as well as the ability to intervene during natural disasters.

The seminar organized by the Italian Embassy in Viet Nam and co-organised by CTNA, with the participation of Leonardo, Thales Alenia Space Italia and e-Geos, for the Italian side and the Vietnam National Space Center (VNSC), belonging to the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), for the Vietnamese side, demonstrated the liveliness of the collaborative relations in the aerospace field between the two countries. For the Italian side, the seminar was moderated by prof. Marco Abbiati, Scientific Attache of the Italian Embassy in Hanoi.

At the opening, the Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, His Excellency Antonio Alessandro, recalled that the initiative, part of the Vietnam Italy scientific and technological cooperation programme, takes place as part of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, as well as 10 years of strategic partnership. Collaboration is more active than ever through a series of initiatives regarding scientific and industrial collaborations which will lead to the consolidation and strengthening of these relationships.

From a content point of view, the Seminar resumes the format already effectively tested by the CTNA in the  Turin workshop  ( https://www.ctna.it/workshop-ctna-advanced-manufacturing-aerospace/ ) and which provides for the contribution, from on the one hand, the world of science and research and, on the other hand, businesses and applications.

After the greetings of the General Director of the VNSC, Dr. Pham Anh Tuan and the President of the CTNA Cristina Leone, the first part of the seminar was dedicated to taking stock of research and development in the field of SAR technologies. Prof. Pierfrancesco Lombardo, of the Sapienza University of Rome, Prof. Marco Martorella of the National Laboratory of Radar and Surveillance Systems of the CNIT (National Inter-university Consortium for Telecommunications) of Pisa, the Vietnamese researchers of the VNSC, of ​​the Remote Sensing Department of the Ministry of Environment and the National University of Education in Hanoi. The focus of the presentations concerned the application of SAR for the prevention and management of interventions following natural disasters, but also the applications in terms of sustainable agriculture, use of water resources and land conservation.

The second part of the seminar gave the opportunity to demonstrate the application lines of these technologies in e-Geos, Thales Alenia Space Italia and Vegastar.

Italy, therefore, confirms a cutting-edge role at an international level for satellite launches and earth observation. This role can be strengthened and complemented through international collaboration, as demonstrated in today’s meeting with reference to Vietnam.

And it is precisely the theme of support for international collaboration at the center of the presentation by the President of the CTNA. The Eng. Leone in fact reiterated that one of the priorities of the CTNA – as a national technological cluster – is to consolidate and animate international relations in terms of research, applications and commercial outlets for Italian companies, activities that the CTNA is consolidating through increasingly intense collaboration with the system of Italian diplomatic representations abroad, as well as with other European collaboration networks.

Another priority of the CTNA is to define the technological road maps for aerospace and contribute to the debate on their development through dedicated working groups with experts indicated by all the CTNA members, representing SMEs from the various Italian territories, centers research and associations.

Moments of debate and discussion like today allow us to broaden the network of skills and knowledge and give visibility to the various ongoing initiatives and Italian excellence, consistently with the institutional role of the CTNA.