Piaggio Aerospace has delivered the first three of the 15 brand-new P.180 Avanti EVO+ aircraft to the Italian Air Force as part of a fleet modernisation programme.  

The nine-seater aircraft were designed and assembled at Piaggio Aerospace's facilities in Villanova d’Albenga and Genoa.  

The Italian Armed Forces’ fleet modernisation programme also includes retrofitting existing aircraft. 

The first three aircraft will be assigned to the Air Transport Training School (SATA) of the Italian Air Force in Pratica di Mare, Rome.  

Piaggio Aerospace plans to deliver one more new aircraft and a retrofitted one by February 2025.  

The Avanti EVO measures 14.408m in length and 3.980m in height, and its speed exceeds 400 KTAS [knots true airspeed]. 

The new and modernised aircraft feature an original configuration engineered and certified by Piaggio Aerospace using the latest aviation technology.  

Innovations include renovated avionics and new landing gears with advanced antiskid, braking and steering systems.  

In 2023 a wholly upgraded P.180 Avanti I was also returned to the Armed Forces, with the new configuration now called Avanti II+. 

Piaggio Aerospace also offers the Avanti EVO in MedEvac and other special mission configurations, featuring an enlarged cabin door option.  

Its door is five inches larger than the standard EVO cabin door, facilitating easier stretcher loading for ambulance operations. 

In October 2024, the US State Department approved a potential foreign military sale to Italy, valued at up to $680m.  

The sale included Electronic Attack (EA)-37B mission systems and associated equipment such as network-centric collaborative targeting, radio frequency receiver subsystems and counter radar assembly components.