The technological demonstrator P.1HH HammerHead, designed to carry out ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) missions crashed at the 11,57 this morning, after taking off from "Trapani Toschi" Trapani Birgi airport.
THEUnmanned Aerial System crashed into the sea, 5 miles north of the island of Levanzo.
There is no damage to people or things - specify from Piaggio Aerospace - we immediately activated an internal commission to ascertain the causes of the accident in collaboration with the competent authorities.
One was sent immediately after the incident task force coordinated by the coast guard to search for the sunken drone.
The Air Force was the launch customer of the Piaggio Aerospace APR. Based on the agreement signed, the company plans to deliver three P.1HH systems to the Air Force (six aircraft and three ground control station) within the year.
The P.1HH system, as derived from a certified civil airplane, the Piaggio P-180, allows operation even in densely populated areas.
On March 8th, the Armed Forces of the United Arab Emirates announced the signing of a contract, worth 316 million, with ADASI (Abu Dhabi Autonomous Systems Investments) for the acquisition of eight P.1HH HammerHead, equipped with EO / IR (Electro-Optical Infra-Red) cameras, radar and advanced communication systems. The contract also includes integrated logistic support, including training.
The 19 march of last year, the P.1HH went off the track during the taxiing phase at the Sicilian airport. The drone, at that juncture, suffered slight damage.
More details will be released in the next few hours.
(photo: Aeronautica Militare / Google Earth)
