Piaggio Aerospace awarded military maintenance training certification

Piaggio Aerospacebeen certified as a Maintenance Training Organisation by the Italian Ministry of Defence, enabling it to train maintenance personnel on the military configurations of its flagship aircraft, the P.180.

The Italian-based and UAE-owned company will now be able to provide military aircraft training in compliance with the European Defence Agency’s international regulations.

The company will offer training courses for obtaining a Military Aircraft Maintenance Licence in compliance with the European Defence Agency’s regulations EMAR 147.

Assigned by the Italian Secretariat General of Defence/National Armaments Directorate through the Directorate for Air Armaments and Airworthiness, the certification has marked another step in the direction of Piaggio Aerospace move towards further serving the defence industry.

Manuela Ramella, chief technical officer and quality manager at Piaggio Aerospace, remarked: “Being certified for military aircraft training represents another acknowledgement of the company’s know-how by the Italian Armed Forces. [The certification] gives us the chance to support the standardisation of military airworthiness within the European Union.”

Formerly controlled by the family of Piero Ferrari when it was known as Piaggio Aero Industries, the company became known as Piaggio Aerospace when it was acquired in its entirely by the Abu Dhabi government’s sovereign fund, Mubadala Development Company, in 2014.

The firm, which has also designed and developed unmanned aerial systems, air ambulances and special-mission aircraft, faced a difficult period just a few years ago when it was placed under extraordinary administration after being placed into receivership in 2018. Piaggio Aerospace was then put up for sale, as reported by Shephard, in 2020.

In 2021, the Italian MoD agreed to purchase six P.180 Avanti turboprop aircraft from Piaggo Aerospace in a deal worth €171 million ($198 million) as fortunes began to turn for company.