Piaggio P.1HH Hammerhead

History

In a region largely dominated by the US and Israel - although more concepts are now being introduced from Europe and elsewhere - the unmanned aerial system (UAS) race is expanding, Italy Piaggio Aero P. 1HH Hammerhead full-scale, Medium Altitude Long Range Aircraft (MALE). Based on the extraordinary-looking Piaggio Avanti business jet, the P. 1HH features a unique twin-propeller engine configuration and elegant design. Supported by Selex Electronic Systems, the Avanti was developed over a period of two years into the aptly named "Hammerhead" drone (with a front wing structure that mimics that of a hammerhead shark), offering excellent range, payload transport Capability and performance specifications.

Flight testing of the system is scheduled to begin sometime in 2013. The vehicle was recently (2013) on display at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (or "IDEX" for short) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

For now, Hammerhead remains a pretty bold move for the rather low-key Piaggio Group, which runs its modern business by selling business jets.

The overall overall configuration of the Hammerhead remains the original Avanti series. The fuselage is streamlined with a sloping nose cone and tail tapering, with a vertical tail attached. A highly mounted horizontal plane is attached to the rudder in a "T-shaped" arrangement, exposing the thrusters.

The landing gear is fully retractable, in a tricycle arrangement with two single-wheel main legs and a two-wheel front leg. The fuselage has significantly lower ground clearance, although the shoulder-mounted wings provide ample clearance for the rotating propeller blades on the ground.

The Hammerhead's main wing assembly is designed to be removable to facilitate the portability of this full-sized system. Like the Avanti, the Hammerhead has a pair of small front wings on the nose.

The main physical changes to the Hammerhead compared to the original Avanti are the now streamlined flight deck and curved rear fairing that houses the required SATCOM systems, avionics suite and mission-appropriate payloads. In addition, the increase in internal volume allows for the addition of more fuel cells, enabling a greater operating range and longer mission duration. All these qualities make UAS a strong contender. Carry specific equipment on outboard underwing pylons as needed.

Internal payload capacity is expected to be 4,000 pounds.

The Hammerhead is powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6-66B turboprop engines arranged in a "propeller" configuration (as opposed to the traditional "tractor" configuration on conventional propeller driven aircraft). These engines are slight variants of the original PT6A-66 manned Avanti series turboprops, each delivering 850 shaft horsepower. The Avanti has a top speed of 458 mph and a range of 1,700 miles -- and the Hammerhead could match those numbers, or possibly exceed them. An engine is mounted from each high-mounted wing assembly and drives the multi-blade propeller assembly.

Hammerhead will have a signature 45,000-foot ceiling with a lifespan of approximately 16 hours.

Selex Electronic Systems is responsible for Hammerhead's Vehicle Control and Management System (VCMS), Mission Management System (MMS) and Air Data Terminal (ADT) links.

Piaggio's inherent advantage is to complement its UAS design with an existing certified airframe in the Avanti, which has proven to be the best performing system on the civilian market. Hammerhead's software suite will enable fully automated takeoff and landing and will support a variety of internal systems in a modular sense.

Such a platform would serve potential operators through advanced land or water reconnaissance, surveillance and patrol operations.

Piaggio Group was founded in Genoa, Italy in 1884 (formerly Rinaldo Piaggio S.p.A.), engaged in aircraft production during World War II and continues to serve the aviation industry today (2013). Piaggio produced the only four-engine Italian heavy bomber of World War II with the 1942 P.108.

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