Descrizione
On 22 August 2017, Francesco Militello Mirto has realized this photo during a training mission with the 88th Group of the 41th Wing of the Italian Air Force.
The P-72A, the Italian Air Force’s military designation for the ATR-72MP, is a maritime patrol aircraft capable of operating over the sea at low and medium altitudes, near the coast, at various latitudes and in different climates, regardless of light and weather conditions. The aircraft can conduct information search and acquisition for the detection, location, recognition, classification, tracking, and identification of surface contacts. It is based on the regional twin-turboprop ATR-72 airframe, on which the ATOS mission system is installed, integrating onboard sensors managed by 4 multifunctional consoles, along with an electronically scanned radar and an electro-optical turret. It also has the capability to identify and analyse electromagnetic emissions in the operational area in real-time on board the aircraft and transmit information through a self-protection system that can be used in hostile territory. Joint service crews consist of commissioned pilots and onboard operators who are members of the Italian Air Force and the Italian Navy. The MP version was developed by Alenia Aeronautica, now part of Leonardo Aircraft, and installed on the ATR-72 airframe, which was designed and built by the ATR consortium, jointly controlled by Leonardo and Airbus.
