April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Tom Kington
ROME — The Italian government said it will purchase the troubled P.1HH drone from Italy-based Piaggio Aerospace as it seeks to keep the firm afloat, despite an apparent lack of interest in the platform from the Italian Air Force.
The Ministry of Economic Development announced April 24 the acquisition of four drones, which are unmanned variants of the firm's P180 business aircraft.
Confirming the purchase, the Defence Ministry said the purchase would serve the “operational needs” of the Italian armed forces and protect the “strategic value” of the company, while strengthening Italy's credentials as a partner in the pan-European EuroMALE drone program.
The Ministry of Economic Development added that future purchases would follow, with an industrial source telling Defense News another four drones would be bought.
Piaggio Aerospace was placed in receivership late last year by then-owner Mubadala, an investment fund based in the United Arab Emirates, which also canceled its planned order of eight Piaggio P.1HH drones.
One reported reason for Mubadala's decision was its impatience as Italy dragged its heels on promises to buy an enhanced version of the drone, preferred by the Italian Air Force and known at the P.2HH.
As Italy's parliamentary defense commission dragged its heels on approving the P.2HH order last year, Mubadala pulled the plug on the firm, even as work on its order of P.1HH drones was nearing completion.
The decision put hundreds of jobs at Piaggio in jeopardy and left the firm with incomplete P.1HH drones.
In March, Italian Air Force chief Gen. Alberto Rosso told Italy's parliament he was not interested in buying them, adding to speculation the drone program was dead.
But he appears to be have been overruled, as Italy's government seeks to save jobs at the company.
The industrial source said the four drones set to be purchased by Italy for the Air Force, plus the further four to be bought in the future, would be those originally destined for the UAE.
One drone that had already been delivered to the UAE could now be returned for delivery to the Italian Air Force.
The source said €70 million (U.S. $78 million) will be spent by the Italian Defence Ministry to achieve flight certification for the drones, which is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. Maintenance work and construction of the P180 will also now continue.
The deal will allow a revived Piaggio to avoid layoffs and to find an “industrial partner,” the Ministry of Economic Development said.
That could be Italy's Leonardo, although CEO Alessandro Profumo this month told Defense News he was only interested in Piaggio's engine maintenance activity.
October 15, 2023 | International, Aerospace
This Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet will provide the DoD with affordable, resilient solutions capable of operating in low earth orbit, medium earth orbit and geostationary earth orbit.
June 12, 2019 | International, Naval, Security
By Hemanth Kumar and Talal Husseini SHARE The UK Royal Navy has teamed up with AI specialist Anduril to use technologies that will modernise the Royal Marines' surveillance systems and techniques. Credit: Anduril. The UK Royal Navy has teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Anduril Industries to use technologies that will modernise the Royal Marines' surveillance systems and techniques. The partnership with Anduril is aimed at transforming the tactical unmanned intelligence and force protection capabilities of the Royal Marines Commando force by leveraging advanced technologies. Anduril was selected for the NavyX accelerator programme to deliver battle winning technology to warfighters. The Royal Navy intends to use the ‘Modernizing Defence' Programme and the NavyX accelerator initiative to modernise its military forces. Royal Navy chief technology officer colonel Dan Cheeseman said: “Anduril is now part of the UK NavyX accelerator programme to get battle winning technology straight into the hands of our warfighters. SHARE The UK Royal Navy has teamed up with AI specialist Anduril to use technologies that will modernise the Royal Marines' surveillance systems and techniques. Credit: Anduril. The UK Royal Navy has teamed up with artificial intelligence (AI) specialist Anduril Industries to use technologies that will modernise the Royal Marines' surveillance systems and techniques. The partnership with Anduril is aimed at transforming the tactical unmanned intelligence and force protection capabilities of the Royal Marines Commando force by leveraging advanced technologies. Anduril was selected for the NavyX accelerator programme to deliver battle winning technology to warfighters. The Royal Navy intends to use the ‘Modernizing Defence' Programme and the NavyX accelerator initiative to modernise its military forces. Royal Navy chief technology officer colonel Dan Cheeseman said: “Anduril is now part of the UK NavyX accelerator programme to get battle winning technology straight into the hands of our warfighters. “Anduril's dynamic and highly tailored expertise has enabled a close partnership with 3 Commando Brigade and they are now part of a busy exercise and deployment schedule. These technologies are directly informing how the Royal Marines is transforming itself to radically change how it fights to win on future operations.” These modernisation efforts involve partnerships with innovative companies capable of quickly adapting products to fit the needs of Royal Marines. The service is keen to incorporate technologies such as autonomous systems, AI, and machine learning for the creation of the future military. The company has built a software and hardware platform known as Lattice, which is designed to deliver accurate, real-time information to troops on the ground to save lives. Lattice uses AI, machine vision and mesh networking technologies, and integrates all Anduril hardware and third party sensors into a single, autonomous operational platform. The integrated networked system will enable warfighters to respond swiftly. Anduril operations engineer Evan Roddenberry said: “Our goal, and the goal of the Royal Navy, is to help the men and women on the front lines complete their missions as successfully and safely as possible. We are excited to have the opportunity to help the Royal Marines with this important mission as they modernise in preparation for the battlefields of the future.” Last month, the Royal Marines tested new technology during the Commando Warrior Two exercise for the country's future commando force. The Navy expects to begin training with the Anduril systems this summer ahead of their deployment. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/royal-navy-modernise-marines-anduril/
February 19, 2024 | International, Naval
Issue #145 of Global Defence Technology provides the latest news, insight, and analysis into the most pressing stories in the defence sector.