Story ID: 618 Drop-in P-72
An ATR On a Mission
By: David Donald
Caption: A Leonardo heavily modified ATR72 airliner outfitted for maritime patrol duties with the Italian air force designation P-72A at Farnborough.
Word Count: 98
It’s inevitable that airframes designed to efficiently carry passengers from A to B become the subject of special-mission modifications for military missions owing to their endurance and capacious cabins, but few can have been adorned with so many lumps and bumps as the ATR 72-600 that Leonardo has transformed into the P-72A (ATR 72MP) maritime patroller for the Italian air force. The first pair was delivered for service with 41° Stormo at Sigonella in Sicily in November 2016, with another pair completing the order to allow the replacement of the long-serving Breguet Atlantics a year later.