F 16 fighter disappears U.S. radars in Italy

ROME - An American fighter F 16 based in Aviano, northern Italy, has been missing in the evening off the coast of Italy on the Adriatic, a news agency Ansa.

The aircraft, flying in formation with other aircraft, lost radio contact with its base and it may have fallen into the sea, according to the same source.

The pilot reported a problem in his last radio contact at 19:00 GMT, the agency said, citing airport sources.

Research of the aircraft are conducted with the participation of other devices flying in formation as well as Italian Coast Guard adds Ansa.

Aviano, north of Venice, home to a large military base and U.S. Air.

The aircraft, flying in formation with three other devices, is wanted in an area fifteen kilometers off the town of Cesenatico, on the Adriatic Coast of Emilia-Romagna.

Italy's Alenia keen for involvement in Franco-British UCAV programme

London - Alenia Aermacchi is keen to become involved in the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) demonstrator programme being jointly developed by the UK and France via their aerospace champions BAE Systems and Dassault Aviation.

Giueseppe Giordo, chief executive of Alenia Aermacchi, believes the Franco-British alliance created by the Lancaster House treaty of November 2010 "is not a closed one" and the nations would be willing to "consider other partners to enter it".

However, Giordo cautions that Alenia would only be willing to join if it was given an equal billing with the two other manufacturers. "Clearly we will not enter with a secondary role. If the French and British can understand that another party can enter at the same level [as BAE Systems and Dassault] this will be a sound approach."

He says the Italian authorities are talking to their British and French counterparts, as well as other governments across Europe, to identify "which is the best alliance" for its involvement.

Giordo was speaking at an event to mark the second flight of the Dassault Neuron on 19 December in Istres in the south of France. Produced by six European nations and their aerospace representatives, including Alenia, the Neuron is a stealthy unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV), designed as a technology demonstrator.

Italian Predator Flies 24-hour Mission

Predator In the Air for 24 Consecutive Hours

The Italian air force’s remotely-piloted vehicle stayed n the air for 24 consecutive hours in December, to carry out four distinct operational missions in the Afghan theater.

For the first time during an operational mission in Afghanistan, a Predator remotely-piloted vehicle flew for 24 consecutive hours and carried out four separate missions without landing. This milestone, achieved in December, is a credit to all of the Aeronautica Militare personnel belonging to Task Group ‘Astore’.

During the same 24 hours, Predator aircraft n° AV0002 flew mostly over the Bakwa district, supporting a patrol of Task Force ‘Victor’ whose mission was to monitor the itinerary to be followed by an Italian vehicle convoy.

The aircraft first monitored a major redeployment of Task Force ‘South East’ as it pulled out of ‘Lavaredo’ base in Bakwa, which was turned over to the Afghan army. In the same district, the Predator then assisted two AM-X fighter-bombers who launched two laser-guided bombs to destroy two radio-communications antennas used by a group of insurgents operating in the same area. Finally, the aircraft surveyed and mapped a village where an insurgent weapons depot had been reported near Shindand, where Task Force ‘Center’ is deployed.

This milestone mission, which exceeds the previous record by almost two hours, is the result of detailed planning of the mission’s every aspect. To guarantee its success, the crews – comprising pilots, analysts, flight engineers and maintenance technicians – alternated every two hours, using their “off” times to monitor tasks, weather conditions as well as resting.