The Italian
Alenia Aeronautica
Alenia Aeronautica was an Italian aerospace company. Its subsidiaries included Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali.
Alenia Aeronautica was also the part-owner of ATR, a joint venture with European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS ...
Sky-Y is a self-financed
MALE
Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization.
A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...
Unmanned air vehicle for
demonstration and research purpose; on 30 October 2007 it set a new European endurance record in the over 1000 kg category with a spotless eight-hour flight. Since 2016 manufacturer became
Leonardo-Finmeccanica
Leonardo S.p.A., formerly Leonardo-Finmeccanica and originally Finmeccanica, is an Italian multinational company specialising in aerospace, defence and security. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the company has 180 sites worldwide. It is the eighth ...
as
Alenia Aermaccchi merged into the new Finmeccanica (definitively rebranded
Leonardo since 2017).
Design and development
The roll-out of the Sky-Y was carried out by Alenia in June 2007, after 12 months of development, and it first flew at the Swedish test area of
Vidsel.
As a testbed for key MALE UAV technologies the aircraft include a
heavy fuel engine of automotive derivation, a new night and day ATOL system (Autonomous take off and landing), a
collision avoidance system and an advanced
data link
A data link is the means of connecting one location to another for the purpose of transmitting and receiving digital information (data communication). It can also refer to a set of electronics assemblies, consisting of a transmitter and a recei ...
with surveillance sensor data integration. After a first test campaign conducted in order to explore the whole flight envelope and the engine performance the development has focused on data treatment, elaboration and fusion with the onboard
Galileo Avionica EOS-45 IR cam, the
Selex Galileo
Selex ES was a subsidiary of Finmeccanica S.p.A., active in the electronics and information technology business, based in Italy and the UK, and formed in January 2013, following Finmeccanica's decision to combine its existing SELEX Elsag and ...
SAR radar and the
satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioi ...
datalink.
The company is now looking towards the developing of a new bigger dual use MALE UAV derived from the Sky-Y experience, the
Molynx.
Alenia Aeronautica Products
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Specifications (Sky-Y)
References
External links
Product Official webpage
Leonardo official Structures webpage
{{Alenia aircraft
Unmanned aerial vehicles of Italy
Medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial vehicles
Sky-Y
Twin-boom aircraft
Single-engined pusher aircraft
Diesel-engined aircraft
2000s Italian experimental aircraft
Aircraft first flown in 2007