Italy’s Guardia di Finanza gets first P-72Bs
Leonardo delivered two ATR 72-600 maritime patrol aircraft to Italy’s Guardia di Finanza at the company’s Caselle Torinese facility on 27 November.
These are the first two of four ATR 72-600s on order, all of which will be equipped with Leonardo’s modular Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance (ATOS) mission system.
Designated P-72B in Italian service, the fleet will support dedicated surveillance activities carried out by the Guardia di Finanza, including air-sea patrol and research missions, counter drug trafficking, piracy, smuggling and preventing any illegal action in territorial waters.
The aircraft’s on-board sensors can identify sensitive objects, monitor their behaviour, acquire evidence, and lead the intervention of naval units and land patrols.
The ATOS system manages a wide range of aircraft sensors, combining the information received in an overall tactical situation and presenting the results to the operators of the mission system in the most suitable format, providing a high level and constantly updated scenario.
Deliveries will be completed by 2022.
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