Story ID: 732 ADASI Avanti MPA CAPTION
Maritime Avanti on Display at Dubai  Airshow
By: David Donald
Caption: 
Word Count: 144
Both Tawazun and Mubadala are  displaying models of the new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) version of the  Piaggio Avanti that is under development for Adasi, a Tawazun subsidiary.  Piaggio Aero, in which Mubadala has a large stake, is developing the aircraft  platform with a long-span wing and increased foreplane and tailplane area,  among other changes. Sweden’s Saab has been employed to provide the mission  system. The MPA will be operated by a crew of four, comprising a pilot, two  sensor/system operators and a mission commander. The 950-shp Pratt &  Whitney PT6A engines give the Avanti a 380-knot maximum cruise speed and a  ceiling of 41,000 feet. On a typical low-level patrol mission 200 nm from base  the MPA offers an on-station endurance of around 6.4 hours. Adasi hopes to have  the first aircraft ready for delivery to an unnamed customer in late 2015.