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Elio Calcagno

Position
Senior Fellow for Defence and Space
Biography

Elio Calcagno is Senior Fellow for Defence and Space in IAI’s “Defence, security and space” programme, where he focuses in particular on the policy, industrial, strategic and operational aspects of defence at the national, European and NATO levels. Over the years he has explored a range of topics relating to all operational domains: from naval combat systems and the underwater environment, to artillery in high-intensity conflicts, sixth-generation fighter aircraft and cyber threats to space infrastructure. Prior to joining IAI, he has worked in Brussels at the International Crisis Group, the European External Action Service (EEAS) and the United Nations. He graduated in History at the University of Worcester and earned master’s degrees in International Relations at the University of Nottingham and Conflict Management & Human Rights at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna. He is currently a visiting fellow at the Maritime Military Studies Institute of the Italian Navy.

Publications

Data pubblicazione

War in the Age of Commercial Spacepower: Five Lessons from Ukraine

War in the Age of Commercial Spacepower: Five Lessons from Ukraine
Autori
Andrea Grillo
Elio Calcagno
Details
Rome, IAI, October 2026, 7 p.
In: IAI Briefs 26|53
Data pubblicazione

The War in Ukraine, NATO, and European Defence: Italian Perspectives

The War in Ukraine, NATO, and European Defence. Italian Perspectives
Edited by
Alessandro Marrone
Alessia Chiriatti
Details
London/New York, Routledge, July 2026, xviii, 191 p.
In: Trends and Perspectives in International Politics

In the media

Pax Americana: Talking Italian Defense and European Defense Coordination with Elio Calcagno

Interia: She unwaveringly supported Trump. Is this the end? "A potential rupture."

20 Minuten: Guerre en Iran : Frégates en retard, cale sèche… La Royal Navy dans la tourmente

Research

The project (May 2026-February 2027) aims to analyse the current state and future prospects of air and missile defence in Europe. It focuses on the evolution of threats in light of the Russia-Ukraine…
Commissioned by the European Space Agency (ESA), this project examines how defence requirements are shaping the demand for Earth Observation (EO) data and services in Europe – a sector of growing…
The project will analyse the strategic landscape of the Arctic, examining issues related to climate change, the security of trade routes and competition among Arctic powers within the evolving…