Leonardo Spa requests, the Ministry of Defense blesses, and the Region says yes. Exercises are returning to Sardinia's firing ranges, even during the summer. These activities are being conducted in derogation of agreements with the State made in 2017 and the regulations signed with the armed forces, which stipulated a ban on live-fire exercises from June 1st to September 30th. However, for the land-based section of the Pisq, in the Perdasdefogu area, an evacuation order has been issued to allow the state-owned arms industry to conduct weapons tests: the measure is in effect from yesterday until mid-August. The document granting the authorization is signed by the President of the Region, Alessandra Todde.

A step backwards from what were considered to be achieved gains in terms of the (precarious) rebalancing of the military presence on the island.

The exemption

The exchange of requests and permissions, which took place via official mailboxes between Rome, Viale Trento, and Pisq—and were not made public until recently—dates back to early June. The Range Commander emphasized Leonardo's "urgency to carry out the operations." Todde responded: "The authorization is granted for the execution of the activity, to be carried out exclusively at the onshore Range—even in derogation of the period between June 1st and September 30th." Furthermore, it was emphasized that no sea bans are envisaged. Evacuation orders have appeared on the notice boards of the affected municipalities in the last few hours: the entire onshore area of the range is inaccessible until August 14th, and red flags will mark the impassable zones.

Enrico Fresu

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