Italian Air Force Completes Operational Testing of Northrop Grumman’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile

AARGM missile - the most advanced supersonic weapons for countering surface to air threats - integrated onto Tornado Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance aircraft

LOS ANGELES – Oct. 4, 2018 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced that the Italian Air Force completed operational testing of the company’s Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) on their Tornado Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance (ECR) aircraft at Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake. A series of flight tests culminated with two direct hits on critical air defense threat targets confirming the operational effectiveness and suitability of AARGM on the Italian Air Force Tornado. The successful completion of operational testing allows the Italian Air Force to transition AARGM into operational squadrons.

An Italian Air Force Tornado ECR (Electronic Combat and Reconnaissance) with an AGM-88E Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile (AARGM) Source: AMI (Italian Air Force)

AARGM is the most advanced anti-radar missiles available today and is able to rapidly engage traditional and advanced land- and sea-based air defense threats, as well as non-radar, time-sensitive strike targets. AARGM provides legacy High Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles with tactically significant improvements including a new guidance unit featuring global positioning system as well as an upgraded anti-radiation homing antenna and digital signal processor. AARGM is also equipped with a millimeter wave end-game terminal seeker providing substantially improved guidance.

“We are proud to have supported our Italian Air Force partner in successfully completing this critical milestone and transitioning the weapon system to operational status,” said Cary Ralston, vice president and general manager, Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. “Congratulations to the Italian Air Force and the joint team that worked closely in achieving this critical milestone.”

Italy signed a memorandum of understanding with the United States in 2005 to cooperatively develop the AGM-88E AARGM missile. The U.S. Navy is the executive agent for the program, currently in full rate production and deployed, supporting operational requirements for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The completion of operational testing on the Tornado ECR aircraft is the fourth operational platform using AARGM. Other platforms include the FA-18C/D Hornet, FA-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.

Leonardo and the Italian Air Force launch “International Flight Training School” initiative: expertise and advanced technology serving military pilot trainees

- The collaboration between Leonardo  and the Italian Air Force would be  further extended to training of pilots in  the fixed-wing, rotary-wing and unmanned domains   
- Leonardo  is the leading  international training  solutions provider, with  products covering the entire training  syllabus from basic, with the new M-345, to advanced and lead-in fighter  training with the M-346

Rome, 17th  July  2018  –  Leonardo’s CEO, Alessandro  Profumo, and the Italian Air Force Chief of Staff, Lt. Gen. Enzo Vecciarelli, today signed  a collaboration agreement that  will strengthen the training services already offered  by the Air Force’s 61st Wing  and will  establish an all  new “International  Flight Training School” (IFTS) to  support military pilot training. The agreement was  signed at an official ceremony held today at the Farnborough  International Air Show in London,  UK. 

The IFTS will ensure the  further growth  and internationalization of the Italian Air Force’s training school while at the same time increasing its  capabilities and the range of pilot training  solutions offered to the customers.  The IFTS will leverage the existing training assets  and expertise in advanced military pilot training  of the Italian Air  Force in addition to Leonardo supplying four  additional M-346 aircraft, new systems and services starting from 2019. 

Based on the current plan, the IFTS  will be able to deliver courses for Italian  Air Force and international Air Force crews, fulfilling the training demands for military pilots  worldwide. Starting from 2021, the Italian Air Force’s entire advanced  and pre-operational training syllabus  will be moved to a  new, dedicated facility.

In order to maximize the success  of  this initiative, Leonardo  has been in discussions with two major international players and leading  companies in the  training sector, Babcock International  Group Plc and CAE, with  the aim to reinforce  IFTS capabilities. 

Alessandro  Profumo, Leonardo’s CEO, said: “as recently announced in  our industrial  plan, and thanks to the agreement with the Italian Air  Force,  we’re  officially entering the fighter  pilot training  service business. The International Flight Training School is based on a solid collaboration programme between Leonardo and  the Italian Air Force and the resulting operational synergies  will allow us to seize new  market opportunities and develop international  collaborations. We plan  to extend  this business model to cover training across  fixed-wing, rotary-wing and remotely-piloted platforms.”     

Italian Air Force Chief of  Staff, Lt. Gen.  Enzo Vecciarelli, said:  “this initiative is the result of our desire to join  two national champions to generate synergies  for  the benefit of the Nation.  The Italian Air Force  will strengthen its commitment in the advanced training  field, developing  a new  cooperation model with Leonardo.  The ongoing training programmes will benefit from new resources, including new trainers provided by Leonardo at no additional cost to  the Air  Force. This will  maximize  the quality of our military training pilots, who will fly 4th  and 5th  generation fighters.  It  will also meet the growing demand for training services from  international partners”.   

The Italian Air Force’s  advanced training syllabus,  based around Leonardo’s innovative integrated training system, has already  been demonstrated to be  modular  and  versatile among  pilots of several nations and  meeting the  needs of different air forces. The  syllabus meets the requirements of  Air Forces whose trainees have undertaken training modules for fourth and fifth generation fighters with the 61° Stormo at Galatina Air Base (Lecce). 

Leonardo’s integrated  training system is based on  the M-346  jet, designated  the T-346A by the  Italian Air Force. It is the backbone  of the  61° Wing, which trains pilots and instructors from Italy and nations such as the  USA, Spain, France,  Austria, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Argentina, Greece and Kuwait. The  M-346 has already been  purchased  by  Italy, Israel, Singapore  and Poland for a combined order book of  72 units.   

Operational training, carried out by the Italian Air  Force with the T-346A, prepares pilots to transition  to the latest-generation combat aircraft including the  Eurofighter  and the F-35. The Galatina Air Force Base is also equipped  with live-virtual-constructive  (LVC) training technologies, including advanced CAE-built M-346 full-mission simulators. Leonardo’s  LVC enables trainees  on the ground to interact with pilots in  the air, flying real aircraft,  during the same training missions.     

Leonardo participates in “Airathon” with the Italian Air Force and EY to imagine the logistics of the future

Rome, 6 June 2018  –  Leonardo took part in the first “Airathon” dedicated to the application of disruptive  technologies in the field of logistics, organised by the Italian Air  Force and  by Ernst&Young (EY) on the 5th and  6th of June, at the Italian Air Force  base in Pratica di Mare (close to Rome). 

The event,  a creative marathon that involved  industry, start-ups and universities in the debate launched by the Italian Air Force, provided the  opportunity for sharing and discussing ideas – for the first  time with an approach of  open innovation, typical  of  hackathons  – on  the  application  of new technologies to logistics,  training  and maintenance.    

“Leonardo is totally committed to  support the Armed Forces meet their current and future challenges, and not only providing  them  with advanced products  – explains Umberto Panetta, Leonardo’s  Senior Vice  President of  Customer Support & Services and  a member of  the jury of the Airathon –.  We actively participate in this project also by  sharing the know-how of Leonardo employees,  some  of  whom  were  involved in coaching  and  mentoring activities. We want to highlight our experience in the field of innovative technologies –  which are already part of Leonardo’s  offer, also  in training and in logistics –, and we  aim  to learn what’s  happening in  the start-ups and in the Universities.” 

In order to  reach the  challenging  targets detailed in  its  Industrial Plan, Leonardo  has recently modified its  organisational structure,  creating a  central function of Customer Support & Services, with the aim of working  better together with its  customers and – through a network  of offices and logistic hubs – it aims to  become a “Full Service Provider” at an international level.   Leonardo is  already providing its  customers with cutting-edge  solutions  in  the training  and logistics fields,  through the integration of augmented reality and mixed reality. One example is the LVC (Live, Virtual and Constructive Simulation) technology, which features the highly advanced simulation system of Leonardo’s M-346 trainer aircraft, which allows – among other things – the students on  the ground to  interact with the pilots  flying, within the same training mission.  

Panetta adds:  “The partnership with  the Italian  Air Force is fundamental for us to  understand  the new requirements and jointly develop innovative  and increasingly effective solutions.  Thanks to  the technology  we own and especially to  the know-how acquired  during these years  of  activity  – for instance  in the flight training sector,  – we are already working on the logistics activities to reduce the workforce required and for the personnel training to be  increasingly  fast and effective,  so that resources are not diverted  from  operational roles” concluded  Umberto Panetta. 

To recall the transformations characterising Leonardo in the last few years – turned into a “one company”  through a complex integration process –, the company gave a “special mention” to Team Tango, that has  stood out from the rest for operating with a creative, but homogeneous approach to leveraging on the different components, maximizing the disruptive result of  the identified solution.