Italian business aircraft manufacturer Piaggio and Selex Electronic Systems are working together to produce an unmanned variant of the P-180 Avanti executive turboprop aircraft.
Named P.1HH Hammerhead, the new variant of the Avanti has been extensively modified for its UAS role. According to Piaggio the new version will be capable of 16 hours of operation carrying a range of payloads including Sigint and Elint packages as well as being able to conduct border and maritime surveillance and electronic warfare. Weapons and other external stores could also be fitted to pylons attached to the forward fuselage. The aircraft has been developed to capture part of the medium altitude, long endurance (MALE) market against aircraft such as the MQ-9 Reaper or BAE Systems Mantis.
Anthony Osborne-aviationweek
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