ROME - The Italian Air Force is set to operate a new unmanned aerial vehicle produced by Piaggio Aerospace. A purchase of three of Piaggio's new P.1HH HammerHead drones, plus six platforms and three ground control stations is set to move forward, thus making the service the launch customer for the new product. The Italian Air Force has reportedly been deploy involved in the HammerHead development. The new drone is an unmanned version of Piaggio's P180 business jet and is equipped with intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR) systems provided by Finmeccanica's Selex division. The new drone will provide Italy's Air Force with a medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) platform exclusive of the pan-European approach more and more favored in industry circles on the continent.
Deliveries to the Air Force are slated for 2016.