On Wednesday 13th January, the aircraft, during a training flight over Puglia, was sighted at sea off the coast of Campomarino. A pair of AM-X aircraft from the 32nd Wing immediately took off from the Foggia base to search for the Predator, which had been sighted at sea off the coast of Campomarino (Campobasso). Currently, the aircraft has been recovered by Air Force personnel and an investigative commission has been appointed to ascertain the causes of the incident.
No damage was reported to people or property.
This is the first aircraft accident for the Predator after approximately 6,000 operational flight hours in Italy, Afghanistan, and Iraq. ‘PREDATOR’ TECHNICAL DATA SHEET’
The RQ-1A “Predator”, manufactured by General Atomics, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) designed primarily for reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition. The weapon system comprises three elements: the aircraft, equipped with a piston engine and a pusher propeller; the Ground Station, which, thanks to a satellite data link, can control the aircraft even from hundreds of kilometres away from the theatre of operations; and the system for transmitting the collected information to the ground in real time. The aircraft is controlled via the control station – effectively a ground-based cockpit – which is connected to the aircraft via antennas and receivers capable of operating via both radio and satellite. A camera mounted on the nose of the aircraft effectively acts as the pilot’s eyes, whilst sensors installed beneath the aircraft are used by operators to capture electro-optical and infrared imagery of the terrain. These images are transmitted to a ground-based operator, also based at the ground station, whose task is to interpret them and extract the necessary information. The Predator can fly at altitudes of up to 8,000 metres and for over 20 consecutive hours.The Italian Air Force has recently expanded its Predator fleet with the A+ version, equipped with more advanced optical sensors and capable of producing images of even higher resolution than the A version currently deployed outside the operational area. Low visibility to the enemy, long endurance over the target and no risk to personnel involved in mission management: these characteristics make the Predator a valuable aerial asset for the surveillance of high-risk areas such as some of the current overseas theatres of operations, as well as for monitoring sensitive areas or locations during events of particular significance (e.g. international summits). This is what happened, for example, in L’Aquila during the G8 summit, where the Italian Air Force, as part of the security measures put in place for the summit, deployed the Predator A+ for aerial surveillance of the Abruzzo regional capital. Operating from the 32nd Wing at Amendola – where the Air Force’s unmanned aircraft are normally based – the Predator’s ’electronic eye” recorded and transmitted to the operations centres, minute by minute, everything that was happening on the ground. Or, to give another real-life example, this is what happens every day in Afghanistan, where Predators take off from Herat Air Base – home to the Joint Air Task Force of the Italian contingent – to monitor areas of particular interest or sensitive locations crucial to the safety of personnel engaged in ground operations. For example, before a convoy of vehicles sets off, a reconnaissance of the route is carried out to check that there are no suspicious situations; or, as happened in Iraq – where Italian Predators were deployed as part of Operation ”Antica Babilonia‘ – unmanned aerial vehicles are used for aerial surveillance during events of particular significance, such as the 2006 general election.
Predator
Wingspan: 14.8 m;
length: 8.2 m;
Height: 1.82 m;
Cruising speed: 135-160 km/h;
operational range: 7,800 m;
autonomy: 24 hours “on station” 926 km from the departure base ;
Maximum take-off weight: 952 kg;
Rotax 912 four-cylinder engine; payload: 204 kg (electro-optical sensors, synthetic aperture radar).
