he Breguet 1150 Atlantic made its last
flight on October 18 last year – not
under its own power, but slung from the
barycentric hook of an Erickson S-64 Aircrane
helicopter, taking it from Pratica di Mare air base
to the Italian Air Force’s museum at Vigna di
Valle. With this, the much-loved maritime patrol
aircraft (MPA) made its final exit. The Atlantic’s
final operational flight took place a year before,
in a formation flanked by the new P-72A.
The Aeronautica Militare (AM, Italian Air Force)
and Marina Militare (MM, Italian Navy) signed a
contract with Alenia Aermacchi (now Leonardo)
for four ATR 72-500MP maritime patrollers in
December 2008. Service entry was planned
for 2012, but was delayed by four years.
In the meantime, at the end of 2012, the
air force and navy called for a complete
update of the aircraft’s communication
systems in order to ensure full compatibility
with the armed forces’ command, control,communications and computer systems
(C4S) network. Moreover, Leonardo now
offered the ATR 72-600MP version, which
would be designated P-72A once in service.
The first two of the four new aircraft were
delivered to the AM in December 2016,
beginning the replacement of the four remaining
Atlantics (from a total of 18 acquired in 1972).
The tired Breguet eventually remained in
service until September 2017, well beyond
the planned limit of its operational life.
It’s hardly possible to compare the two
aircraft, with 40 years of technical evolution
between them. Furthermore, the Atlantic’s
primary task was anti-submarine and anti-
surface warfare (ASW and ASuW), a mission
that the unarmed P-72A is currently unable
to accomplish. On the one hand, the armed
forces have gained a formidable surveillance
and patrol aircraft, equipped with state-
of-the-art mission systems and sensorC4ISR at sea
The41°Stormoofthe Italian
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introducedtoservicea true
force-multiplier.AsDino
Marcellinofinds out,themulti-
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alsoofferspowerfulC4ISR
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11: P-72A MM62281 ‘41-03’ cruises above Sicily’s southern coastline. This is one of the Italian Air Force’s
fi rst two P-72As delivered to the 41° Stormo in December 2016. All photos Dino Marcellino 2: The aircraft’s
fully glass cockpit is derived from that of the civilian ATR 72-600 but adds a tactical display on the right.
The commander of the 88° Gruppo described the P-72A as “part smartphone, part satnav, part computer- all perfectly integrated and networked”. 3: Search and rescue is one of the primary missions of the 41°
Stormo. This P-72A is outfi tted with SAR equipment, including a red infl atable raft and, on the left, the
slide to launch this from the P-72A’s rear sliding door. 4: The four workstations of the ATOS system, seen
from the rear of the cabin. From left to right are MOC 1, 2, 3 and 4. If required, the crew composition can
be modifi ed according to the complexity of the assigned mission.
Italian Air Force P-72A
76 // September 2019 #378 http://www.airforcesmonthly.com76-79 ItalianP72A AFM Sep2019.indd 76 8/2/2019 3:05:50 PM