Leonardo delivered to Guardia di Finanza two planes P-72B, under a contract for 4 aircraft in total. Deliveries will be completed by 2022.
Lucio Valerio Cioffi, Head of Leonardo's Aircraft Division, declared: "We are proud that the Guardia di Finanza has decided to integrate our ATR 72MP, an aircraft that expresses our technological capabilities at the highest levels and combines reliability, low operating costs with all the advantages of the ATR 72-600 regional passenger transport aircraft”.
Designated P-72B, the aircraft will be used in numerous operations by the Guardia di Finanza.
“Particular latest generation functionalities installed for the first time on the ATR72MP will be useful to support specific surveillance activities entrusted to the Guardia di Finanza. The P-72B will operate missions of air-sea patrol and search, using the on-board sensors to locate and identify, even in a discreet manner, sensitive targets, monitor their behaviour, acquire sources of evidence, guide the intervention of naval units and land patrols”, explains Leonardo in a note.
The ATR 72MP – already in service with the Italian Armed Forces in a military version called P-72A – is equipped with the Leonardo modular mission system ATOS (Airborne Tactical Observation and Surveillance) which manages the spectrum of sensors of the aircraft, 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.