Italian Companies Display New UAS Designs in Paris

AUVSI Photo

 

By Brett Davis



New types of unmanned aircraft are on display at the Paris Air Show, including an all-electric tiltrotor from AgustaWestland and an unmanned version of a general aviation airplane from Italian neighbor Piaggio Aero.



Piaggio literally pulled the wraps off its new P.1HH Hammerhead UAS on 18 June, displaying it near the Aero P.180 Avanti II business jet on which it is based.



The Hammerhead, which has been displayed elsewhere in model form, has a wingspan of 51 feet and a length of 47 feet. It is powered by two turboprop engines from Pratt and Whitney Canada, has a ceiling of 45,000 feet and an endurance of 16 hours while carrying a 500-pound payload. It can also put on a burst of speed when needed, according to Piaggio.



“The design of the P.1HH Hammerhead aims at being a unique ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] platform, able to climb up to 45,000 feet, loitering quietly at low speed for an endurance of up to 16 flight hours and dashing at very high speed to target,” the company says.



Piaggio Aero CEO Alberto Galassi said the product couldn’t have been achieved without partner Selex ES, which had the capability to “unman” the Avanti II.



“With small changes, vital but small changes, you’re going to be impressed with what I think will be the MALE [medium-altitude, long endurance] and the European product” for unmanned systems, he said at the unveiling, held in the static display area of the air show.



“I’m very proud of this, and as an Italian, I think the nation should be proud of it,” he said.



The Hammerhead went through engine start and runway taxi tests earlier this year and has now entered the final test phase, the company says.



Fellow Italian company AgustaWestland, meanwhile, displayed its Project Zero aircraft, a winged tiltrotor platform that is intended to be a fully electric aircraft. 



The aircraft was flown secretly in Italy beginning in 2011 and then made its debut earlier this year at the Heli-Expo 2013 show in Las Vegas. The aircraft was designed, built and tested in just 12 months, the company said, but that was made possible because AgustaWestland has many partners in the program from around the world, including Italy, the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan.



“The technologies developed by each partner are being fed into their various industrial sectors to bring value to each company,” says an AgustaWestland press release.



More Cooperation



In other signs of international cooperation, Raytheon announced that it has completed delivery of miniature friend-or-foe transponders to Korean Air Lines, which will use them in its family of unmanned aircraft.



The work with Korean Air Lines stemmed from Raytheon’s previous work with the company on other transponders, said Scott Whatmough, the vice president and general manager of Integrated Communication Systems. He said further international sales beyond Korea are likely.



General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, builder of the Predator family of unmanned aircraft, announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Canada’s CAE to integrate CAE’s simulation systems with GA-ASI’s unmanned aircraft to offer international customers a complete training system.



The companies have teamed for the past two years to offer the Predator B and the Predator C for Canada’s intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance needs.



“We are pleased to expand our partnership with CAE to focus on international opportunities beyond Canada, enabling us to offer a global training solution for our aircraft,” Frank Pace, president of GA-ASI’s Aircraft Systems Group, said in a press release.