H SAF is part of the application ground segment of EUMETSAT and consists of Central Application Facilities, located at the headquarters of EUMETSAT, and a network of eight Satellite Application Facilities (SAFs), managed by the Member States of EUMETSAT.
One of the main objectives of the programme is to provide products and applications with state-of-the-art spatial and temporal resolution that can support operational hydrology, monitor natural disasters such as floods, landslides and droughts, and improve water resource management.
H-SAF is led by the Meteorological Service of the Italian Air Force and implemented by a consortium of National Meteorological Services and European Research Centres.
For the Italian Air Force Meteorological Service, the Military Aviation and Meteorology General Office of the Italian Air Force Staff is the Leading Entity, i.e. the Programme Coordinator.
According to the contract, Telespazio will be responsible for the management, planning, coordination and control of the operations of the fourth operation phase of the programme until 2027.
Specifically, its activities will concern six macro-areas: operational continuity from the previous phase; project management support, planning, coordination and control, Quality management and configuration control; full management of the review process and of the lifecycle of satellite products and activities falling within the Programme; participation in meetings and boards; engineering support for operations.
Telespazio has been operating as a sub-contractor of the Italian Air Force within the H SAF Programme since 2005.