The UAE will get the "Piaggio P.2HH Hammerhead"

[The SC]

The P.2HH is the planned, in-development successor to the P.180-based P.1HH Hammerhead advanced UAV - promising improved capabilities throughout.


Detailing the development and operational history of the Piaggio P.2HH Hammerhead Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) / Drone. Entry last updated on 5/22/2018. Authored by Staff Writer. Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com

With the P.1HH "Hammerhead" Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) set to begin deliveries to launch customer United Arab Emirates in mid-2018, Piaggio of Italy - with input from the UAE - has begun looking towards the future for a more evolved successor in the "P.2HH". The original P.1HH is based on a heavily modified form of the company's P.180 "Avanti" (detailed elsewhere on this site) VIP pusher prop-driven passenger hauler while the P.2HH is set to incorporate the changes instituted in another P.180 derivative - the Multirole Patrol Aircraft (MPA). The venture is being supported locally in Italy by the Italian Air Force which holds a running interest in advanced UAV types like the Hammerhead.

The P.2HH will bring about increased capability by way of key design changes, namely a larger fuselage structure for increased internal volume and all-new, wider-spanning composite wings for increased endurance. All this will allow for greater fuel and equipment loads (up to 1,500lb) as well as loitering/mission times (30 hours is the stated goal). The same pusher prop-driven engine arrangement will be featured as will the canard wing configuration (though with an all-new canard wing design) and tricycle landing gear. Other carry-over qualities of the P.1HH include the Multhopp "T-style" tail unit. The twin pusher propeller (multi-blade) engine arrangement has been shown to provide better performance than competing designs. Winglets added to the mainplanes will promote fuel efficiency.

As the P.180 Avanti is already a European-airspace-certified platform so this, by default, gives any future Piaggio attempts at a UAV based on the design an edge over foreign competitors. The multirole P.2HH will be able to cover the gamut of civil airspace roles including border patrol, humanitarian air, disaster relief, general surveillance and the like while also being very capable of military-level service.

The Italian and UAE air services are envisioning an initial fleet of about ten P.2HH aircraft each providing the program with a perfect starting point in netting other potential foreign orders in the future. Deliveries of the new system are scheduled for early-2020 based on the given timetable.

Performance data presented below are estimates made on the part of the author based on the existing P.1HH design.

Any available statistics for the Piaggio P.2HH Hammerhead Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) / Drone are showcased in the areas immediately below. Categories include basic specifications covering country-of-origin, operational status, manufacture(s) and total quantitative production. Other qualities showcased are related to structural values (namely dimensions), installed power and standard day performance figures, installed or proposed armament and mission equipment (if any), global users (from A-to-Z) and series model variants (if any).

General Assessment (BETA)
Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

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Rating: 52 (of 100)
The rating is an internal assessment derived from forty factors pertaining to this entry.
Relative Maximum Speed Rating
Hi: 400mph
Lo: 200mph
This entry's maximum listed speed (342mph).


* Commercial Market High belongs to Cessna 172.

** Military Market High belongs to Ilyushin Il-2.

​

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=1984

 

[The SC]

Thanks to a parliamentary hearing of the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Gen. Enzo Vecciarelli, held on May 2, it is possible to outline the features of the new super-MALE Piaggio Aerospace P2HH UAV that the AM has decided to acquire in 10 systems (20 aircraft) for a value of 766 million euros. The program, as noted, must still obtain the parliamentary opinion on the financing and is part of the bi-national cooperation with the UAE (which through the Mubadala holding control of Piaggio Aerospace) which at the moment has already led to the development and realization of P1HH HAMMERHEAD.

Compared to the HAMMERHEAD, the P2HH is a much more powerful and radically different aircraft, characterized by a completely new wing, which will be completely redesigned to be stretched and enlarged, and from an equally different fuselage front section (and not only, but for a complete technical analysis, see RID 6/18).

Another of the very important, if not the most important, aspects is that from an industrial point of view the role of Leonardo in P2HH is destined to grow further compared to the role played in the P1HH HAMMERHEAD program. In addition to all the avionics, the sensors, the mission and control system of the aircraft and the GCS, the company in Piazza Montegrappa will also make the new wing - presumably at the Caselle plant - and the mobile surfaces.

In practice, Leonardo will be responsible for the most important parts of the aircraft (taking over from Piaggio Aerospace even in much of the structural work) and should see it grow, based on our estimate, its share of workshare to over 50%. Also according to what was learned from the hearing of Gen. Vecciarelli, once the financing is approved, the first prototype of P2HH should be ready in 3 years, and carry out the first flight 8 months later, while the first series aircraft in configuration ISTAR should be delivered 19 months after the completion of the first prototype. That said, it is worth pointing out that the P2HH stands in the same category as the EURO EVAL - which was presented for the first time a full-scale model during the ILA exhibition in Berlin - and could represent a competitor to some extent , if only in terms of financing.The EURO MALE program will end its definition phase this autumn after which the real development phase will start. At that point the workshare will depend on the investment of the partner countries - Italy, France, Germany and Spain - but by virtue of what the Defense is going to allocate right on P2HH this could marginalize the Italian and Leonardo's position within the EURO BAD. A consequence to be evaluated with great attention, in light of the new importance that the integration process of the European Defense is taking following the Brexit and the consolidation of the European Defense Fund (EDF).

In this regard, we heard sources of Defense who explained that "the orientation of acquiring the P2HH is based on the experience of the P1HH that is a widely realized aircraft so much that soon will begin deliveries of the first specimens to the Emirati customer." Germany and Spain - but by virtue of what the Defense is going to allocate right on P2HH this could marginalize the Italian and Leonardo's position within the EURO MALE. A consequence to be evaluated with great attention, in light of the new importance that the integration process of the European Defense is taking following the Brexit and the consolidation of the European Defense Fund (EDF). In this regard, we heard sources of Defense who explained that "the orientation of acquiring the P2HH is based on the experience of the P1HH that is a widely realized aircraft so much that soon will begin deliveries of the first specimens to the Emirati customer." Germany and Spain - but by virtue of what the Defense is going to allocate right on P2HH this could marginalize the Italian and Leonardo's position within the EURO MALE. A consequence to be evaluated with great attention, in light of the new importance that the integration process of the European Defense is taking following the Brexit and the consolidation of the European Defense Fund (EDF).In this regard, we heard sources of Defense who explained that "the orientation of acquiring the P2HH is based on the experience of the P1HH that is a widely realized aircraft so much that soon will begin deliveries of the first specimens to the Emirati customer."


http://www.portaledifesa.it/index~phppag,3_id,2342.html


Specs by Military Factory:


Crew: 0
Length: 50.85 ft (15.5 m)
Width: 49.21 ft (15.00 m)
Height: 13.12 ft (4.00 m)
Empty Weight: 20,283 lb (9,200 kg)
MTOW: 33,069 lb (15,000 kg)


Installed Power:

ASSUMED: 2 x Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-66B turboprop engines developing 850 shaft horsepower each (estimated) driving multi-bladed propeller units in pusher arrangement.


Standard Day Performance:

Maximum Speed: 342 mph (550 kph; 297 kts)
Maximum Range: 3,728 mi (6,000 km; 3,240 nm)
Service Ceiling: 50,853 ft (15,500 m; 9.63 mi)
Rate-of-Climb: 4,000 ft/min (1,219 m/min)


Comparison with other MALE:
General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B)

https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=468

Piaggio P.2HH Hammerhead
https://www.militaryfactory.com/aircraft/detail.asp?aircraft_id=1984


- Its speed will exceed the Predator B despite the difference in size; The speed of the new hammerhead is 297 knots while the predator is 200 knots

- The hammerhead range is 6000 km while the Predator B is 3,022 km

- The flying ceiling of the hammerhead is 50,853 feet while the Predator B is 50,000 feet


Fabio Guida, Chief Technology Officer of Piaggio Aerospace, remarked: “Our aircraft guaranteed the success of a key test at European level for the future development of the defense and security sector, that will increasingly rely upon remotely piloted systems of this class. The outstanding outcome is the evidence of Piaggio Aerospace’s commitment to the continuous development of the P.1HH HammerHead program, which will see the first deliveries this year. The platform represents the only European MALE product and is an uncontested excellence within the industry.”

http://www.piaggioaerospace.it/en/m...d-flies-by-using-satellite-navigation-systems

*Most important:

Mubadala(UAE) completes 100% takeover of Piaggio

DUO

 

[Yongpeng Sun-Tastaufen]

Italy is a tech powerhouse. No wonder why Italy was an Axis power alongside Germany and Japan.