P.1HH HammerHead Unmanned Aerial System to enter in service with UAE armed forces.

At UMEX 2018, the International Unmanned Systems Exhibition in Abu Dhabi (UAE), the Italian Company Piaggio Aerospace showcases its latest development of its P.1HH HammerHead, a state-of-the-art Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) designed for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions. The HammerHead UAS was developed from the design of the P.180 Avanti II commercial aircraft.

Piaggio Aerospace P.1HH HammerHead UAS at UMEX 2018, the International Unmanned Systems Exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Picture source Army Recognition)

The P.1HH HammerHead UAS made its first flight in February 2013, from an Italian Air Force base and it was unveiled for the first time to the public in June 2013 at the Paris Air Show.

The P.1HH HammerHead can be fitted with communications intelligence (COMINT), electronics intelligence (ELINT) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) offering the capciti to perform different types of missions. The mission management system (MMS) installed aboard the P.1HH HammerHead helps it to perform patrol and ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) missions.

The P.1HH HammerHead has a span of 15.6m, length of 14.4m and overall height of 3.98m. The maximum take-off weight of the UAS is 6,146kg. The wing area of the P.1HH HammerHead is 18m², horizontal tail area is 3.83m², vertical tail area is 4.73m² and forward wing area is 1.3m².

The core of the UAV is the Selex ES SkyISTAR Mission Management System (MMS), coupled with the firm’s Vehicle Control Management System (VCMS) that commands the aerodynamic control surfaces and manages the on-board equipment. VCMS LRUs are installed inside the large volume fuselage, spaced for temperature control as well as survivability. Selex ES also supplies remote-piloting Ground Control Station (GCS), and UAS datalink and communications systems that can work beyond line of sight (BLOS). The UAV and GCS are NATO STANAG USAR 4671 compliant, which will help streamline approval to fly in the airspace of other countries that have ratified this UAV airworthiness standard.

According to the Defense Industry Daily website, the Italian Company Piaggio so far have eight orders for the P.1HH HammerHead, to be delivered to the UAE from 2018, and an expression of “great interest” from the Italian military, who have been helping Piaggio by providing Italian bases for testing.