Maritime Avanti on Display at Dubai Airshow

Both Tawazun and Mubadala are displaying models of the new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) version of the Piaggio Avanti that is under development for Adasi, a Tawazun subsidiary. Piaggio Aero, in which Mubadala has a large stake, is developing the aircraft platform with a long-span wing and increased foreplane and tailplane area, among other changes. Sweden’s Saab has been employed to provide the mission system. The MPA will be operated by a crew of four, comprising a pilot, two sensor/system operators and a mission commander. The 950-shp Pratt & Whitney PT6A engines give the Avanti a 380-knot maximum cruise speed and a ceiling of 41,000 feet. On a typical low-level patrol mission 200 nm from base the MPA offers an on-station endurance of around 6.4 hours. Adasi hopes to have the first aircraft ready for delivery to an unnamed customer in late 2015.