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  April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Italy to buy drones to keep company alive, but the Air Force doesn’t want them

  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. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2019/04/26/italy-to-buy-drones-to-keep-company-alive-but-the-air-force-doesnt-want-them

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  May 6, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  Exclusive: Wozniak's space firm, Privateer, buys Orbital Insight, raises $56.5 million

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  June 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Israelis To Boost F-35 Fleet’s Electronic Warfare

  By ARIE EGOZIon June 15, 2020 at 1:02 PM TEL AVIV: The Israeli air force's F-35 special test aircraft is set to arrive in Israel, suitably enough, on the Fourth of July, along with three more Joint Strike Fighters. The arrival will start a planned process of upgrading the IAF's F-35 aimed at making them the main target supplier for the Israeli defense forces. In November another three are scheduled to arrive, bringing the IAF's total to 27 out of the 50 in the current contract. The special test aircraft was officially delivered to the IAF a year ago and some new systems developed by Israel have been installed. But the most sensitive systems will be installed only after the aircraft lands in Israel. Currently, the IAF operates 20 F-35 (Adir) and uses them in combat. One of the key capabilities of the F-35 is its capability to absorb electronic signals from radars and air defense systems and to quickly classify them, geolocate them, and display them to the pilot. Then the aircraft can distribute that data to other combatants. The critical data is collected by the aircraft's passive antennas embedded in the F-35's edges. They feed the signals information to the jet's computers. Using interferometers, the slightest time delay between when a signal hits one antenna compared to another, azimuth and range can be defined and target-quality coordinates created on where the threatening radio frequency emission is coming from. The already very advanced ELINT system of the F-35 is going to be further upgraded by the IAF, working with Israel's defense companies. Since the stealth fighter aircraft first arrived in Israel, some locally-made systems have been partially tested in different scenarios, but the test aircraft will allow these new systems to be put completely through their paces. The test aircraft will enable each of the Israeli F-35s to function as a “Target Generator” for all Israeli ground and naval forces thanks to what some have described as an Israeli-built command-and-control system. The Israeli companies that are developing systems for the IAF's F-35's are reluctant to provide details about the systems under development. Eitan Ben Eliyahu, former commander of the IAF, told Breaking Defense that the F-35 will bring two main capabilities to the Israeli air force's existing ones: “The stealth of course is the obvious one and it is crucial in an area where different forces deploy advanced anti-aircraft systems. “The second capability is the one that allows this aircraft to receive and distribute all kinds of combat data from a long list of sensors. This,” Ben Eliyahu said, “is very important for an air force that is performing combat missions almost on a daily basis.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/06/israelis-to-boost-f-35-fleets-electronic-warfare