General Miglietta met Mr Dietmar Pilz, Director of Technology, Engineering & Quality and the Head of ESA ESTEC Establishment and Mrs Simonetta Cheli, Director of Earth Observation Programmes to discuss the importance of space for NATO’s mission of deterrence and readiness to defend the Alliance if necessary. Although NATO has no direct relationship with ESA, many of our European Allies rely on ESA to build and launch national satellites.

At the end of the visit, Commander JFCBS and the two Directors decided to have a second round of discussions at JFCBS to continue to delve into their common interests and to exchange more ideas and experiences.