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2015-04-01

HAMMERHEAD SET FOR ITALIAN AIR FORCE

Deal for P.1 HH UAS announced at IDEX
The Italian Air Force will be the launch customer of the P.1HH HammerHead Unmanned Aerial System (UAS), a state-of-the-art multipurpose UAS, designed and developed by Piaggio Aerospace.

This decision was announced at IDEX 2015 in Abu Dhabi, in presence of the Italian Air Force Chief, Lt. Gen. Pasquale Preziosa. Piaggio Aerospace will deliver three UAS systems – six air vehicles and three ground control stations – complete with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance configuration to the Italian Air Force in early 2016.

Carlo Logli, CEO of Piaggio Aerospace, said: “We are truly delighted about this decision. It confirms the strong partnership we have with the Italian Air Force and showcases the P.1HH as one of the most advanced systems to enter the market. We are grateful for the continued support of our partner Finmeccanica-Selex ES, the Italian Ministry of Defence, our shareholders and the valuable teamwork with the Italian hi-tech industry”.

The P.1HH platform is a derivative of the very successful Piaggio Aerospace P.180, the fastest twin turboprop aircraft in the world, with a proven service record of over 20 years and more than 800,000 flight hours.

The P.1HH HammerHead is designed with a variety of operational capabilities that can be tailored to specific customer requirements, enabling the UAS to perform a wide range of ISR missions.

TOP END

The Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH HammerHead is a new, state-of-the-art unmanned aerial system designed for Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions whose combination of performance and operational characteristics is at the very top end of the UAS MALE category.

An unmatched combination of range, wide operative speeds, fast climb gradient, high operative ceiling and variety of payloads, provides end-users with a powerful yet flexible Defense System that outperforms other MALE Systems, identifying the P.1HH HammerHead as a Super MALE UAS.

P.1HH HammerHead, is suited for a wide range of ISR, Defense and Security missions, and defines an unsurpassed mission role flexibility and sets a new frontier of CONcept of OPerationS (CONOPS) for Defense.

The P.1HH HammerHead Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) is derived from the successful Piaggio Aerospace P.180 Avanti II business aviation aircraft, the fastest twin turboprop aircraft in the world with a proven, uneventful, service record of more than 20 years and 800,000 flight hours.

The design of the P.1HH HammerHead aims at being a unique ISR platform, able to climb up to 45,000 feet, loitering quietly at low speed (135 KTAS) for an endurance of up to 16 flight hours and dashing at very high speed (up to 395 KTAS) to target.

UAV PLATFORM

The P.1HH HammerHead UAV platform has an aerodynamic configuration largely similar to P.180 Avanti II.

This is very versatile thanks to its unique patented 3 lifting surfaces configuration (3 LSC) and high aspect ratio laminar wings, adapted for the P.1HH design by moderately increasing the wing span to sustain larger vehicle masses and allocating a quick detachable joint to the outer wings for rapid aerial deployment of the UAS in remote areas. Being based on a certified Mach 0.70 aircraft, P.1HH HammerHead is the fastest

MALE.

The P.1HH HammerHead power plant has two, highly reliable Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B turbine engines integrated with low noise five blade scimitar propellers. The Power Plant is controlled by two Engine Interface Units that receive commands from the FCC to drive the turbine and the propeller governors while managing engine and propeller data. A large upper fuselage tank, supported by a robust yet efficient carry through beam, is integrated to provide the required fuel quantity for long range and endurance.

A smart fuel system is designed to control and minimize the movement of the aircraft center of gravity for maximum operational flexibility in a wide range of mission payloads. The triple redundant 28VDC electrical generation and distribution system supplies energy for all aircraft functions with adequate operational reserve through the envelope, and fully satisfies large power demands from a variety of power consuming payloads.

The large but, low drag P.180 aircraft fuselage provides capability for aerodynamically effective payload arrangements, with plenty of available volume from the variety of LRU’s equipment, sensors and communication equipment comfortably located inside the fuselage:

VCMS - THE UAV ‘BRAIN’
P.1HH HammerHead features a technologically advanced Vehicle Control & Management System (VCMS) that when combined with the advanced Mission Management System (MMS) manages the UAV and its mission specific equipment.

The VCMS, commanded from the Ground Control Station (GCS) via an airborne datalink system, conducts the vehicle commanding aerodynamic control surfaces and manages on-board equipment with a triple redundant Flight Control Computer (FCC) system and multiple remote multi-lane Servo Interface Units (SIU), developed to achieve the required level of safety and mission reliability.

Position, attitude and air data are guaranteed by triple redundant Inertial Sensors (INS) and Air Data Probes (ADS), mounted in the VCMS.

An advanced Ground Control Station (GCS) is the P.1HH HammerHead UAS’s command & control center. The GCS is located in an autonomous shelter that hosts crew, equipment and consoles necessary to manage three UAVs (two operational, one in transfer mode) and their related Payloads.

The crew processes functions necessary to execute tactical unmanned missions and stand-off surveillance unmanned missions, remotely commanding and controlling through VCMS and MMS the on-board surveillance system with an advanced human/machine interface integrating display and control system.

The GCS is provided with multiple Ground Data Terminals (GDT) that when coupled with the associated Air Data Terminals (ADT) on the vehicles provide Line Of Sight (LOS) and Beyond Line Of Sight (BLOS) Link for Vehicle and Payload Control.

The P.1HH HammerHead mission management system is based on the Finmeccanica – Selex ES’ SkyISTAR platform-agnostic innovative solution, which is ideally suited for patrol and ISR missions. The system is capable of responding to diverse threats that range from terrorist attacks to illegal immigration, protection of Exclusive Economic Zones, infrastructures and critical sites. SkyISTAR built-in sensor fusion, data management and exploitation features of skyISTAR enable highly effective border control, wide area surveillance, targeted surveillance, environmental and disaster control missions.

MAIDEN FLIGHT

Piaggio Aerospace announced at IDEX 2015 the successful maiden flight of the Prototype 001, a major milestone in the program development of the P.1HH HammerHead UAS. The maiden flight was completed last December at the Trapani Birgi Italian Air Force base.

This achievement came after the completion of the P.1HH UAS demo program and represents the starting point of a comprehensive development and certification flight test campaign. It will enable Piaggio Aerospace to soon deliver to the market one of the most advanced MALE (Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance) unmanned systems.

Carlo Logli said: “The success of the Prototype 001 maiden flight is a fantastic step for the P.1HH programme and for our company as a whole. It brings us closer to the achievement of our vision to combine our renowned business aviation capabilities with a primary position in the international surveillance and security industry.

“We are proud of the outstanding results achieved by the Piaggio Aerospace teams over a short period of time, in close cooperation with our partner Finmeccanica – Selex ES and with the invaluable support of the Italian Air Force and the entire Italian Ministry of Defence. Today we have very concrete reasons to believe that P.1HH will become the first European state-of-the-art MALE UAS, uniquely suited to perform a wide range of surveillance and security missions at the highest technological level.”

Project Pilot Sergio Paloni, who led the flight crew said added: “We are very pleased with the result of the maiden flight. The aerial vehicle was seamlessly operated remotely with no experienced flaws. We were also able to gather significant data which will enable us to forge ahead with our ambitious development roadmap”.

The Prototype 001 is representative of the final aerodynamic configuration of the aircraft including the new, extended span main wing and the control systems on board. During the first flight, the Prototype 001 performed a shakedown flight over the Mediterranean Sea at a significant range of speed and altitude. The main flight objective was to conduct a first check of all the essential functions of the air vehicle and ground segment.

By being based on a certified Mach 0.70 aircraft, the P.1HH HammerHead is the fastest Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) ever designed and the Piaggio Aero UAV is powered by two highly reliable Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6A-66B turbine engines integrated with low noise 5-blade scimitar propellers.

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