Italian Air Force receives three P.180 Avanti EVO+ aircraft

One of the first three P.180 Avanti EVO+ aircraft delivered to the Italian Air Force. (Piaggio)

The Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana AMI) has received into service three Piaggo P.180 Avanti EVO+ aircraft, the manufacturer announced on 25 November.

The light utility and liaison twin-turboprop aircraft were delivered to the AMI Air Transport Training School in Pratica di Mare, Rome, and are the first of 15 that will be received as part of a wider modernisation programme.

“After completing the test flights, Piaggio Aerospace delivered to the Italian Air Force three P.180 Avanti EVO+, the … nine-seater aircraft designed and assembled by Piaggio Aerospace in its facilities located in Villanova d'Albenga and Genoa,” the company said.

EVO+ is a military variant of the EVO specifically designed for the AMI, which features a new dual-zone digitally controlled air-conditioning system, a new digitally controlled pressurisation system, a new cabin interior, and a new braking system.

The 15 aircraft are being acquired under a programme which also includes the retrofit of some of the 14 aircraft currently in service (there are 19 P.180s in service with the wider Italian armed forces). The upgraded Avanti I airframes are to be redesignated Avanti II+. Piaggio Aerospace expects to deliver one more new aircraft and a retrofitted one by February 2025.

For more information on the AMI's P.180 programme, please see Italy confirms P.180 EVO Plus acquisition, P.1HH cancelled