To save (half) the Piaggio, the Air Force buys drones that do not need it

(To Tiziano Ciocchetti)
01/03/19

At the meeting of the 26 February us at the ministry for economic development, between the Italian government and the extraordinary commissioner of Piaggio Aerospace Vincenzo Nicastro, the decision to continue the development of the UCAV P.1HH HAMMERHEAD was formalized as well as to acquire some copies for the Air Force.

As for the final stage of development, certification and acquisition of 8 aircraft, the Executive of Count will allocate 250 million, which will be made available to other State Bodies for dual tasks.

The uniqueness lies in the fact that the HAMMERHEAD does not serve the Air Force, as they do not meet the requirements expressed by the Armed Force. In fact, the request concerned a UCAV with higher performance - of which the Air Force had issued the relevant specifications - as the P.2HH (an initial allocation of 766 million euros was envisaged for a contract for 20 drones). Regarding this project, in a hearing in the Senate, last December 5, Undersecretary of Defense Tofalo had reassured the Parliament stating that the P.2HH was included in the program of upcoming start, published in the Multi-Year Program Document 2018-2020 .

However, to date, the P.2HH program is being set aside and, despite the purchase of 8 P.1HH, the future of the Piaggio Aerospace is far from rosy.

Photo: ministry of economic development