Alenia Aeronautica
Encyclopedia
Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica
subsidiary, is a Europe
an aerospace
company from Italy
. Its subsidiaries
include Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali. Alenia Aeronautica owns ATR, a joint venture
with EADS
.
aerospace and defense industries Aeritalia
and Selenia.
Alenia is endowed with the rich heritage of over 12,000 aircraft designed, built and maintained by its predecessor companies, which more famous names including Aeritalia, Fiat
and Romeo
. Airplane manufacture in the Turin
area began in 1910 with SIT and continued with Pomilio and Ansaldo, which built the SVA reconnaissance biplane. The industry was consolidated by Fiat after the First World War. Under chief designers Celestino Rosatelli and Giuseppe Gabrielli, Fiat built some of the most iconic Italian designs including the CR.32 and CR.42 biplanes, the G.55 fighter and the G.91 family of light attack and trainer jets. The Naples plants trace their history to Nicola Romeo. Widely remembered for his role in Alfa sports car business, in 1917 Romeo founded an airplane manufacturer in Naples. The company was later absorbed by Breda. Its Ro.41 biplane was the standard Italian advanced trainer throughout World War II.
After the war it came under Finmeccanica as Aerfer and built the Sagittario II, the first Italian supersonic
aircraft, designed by Sergio Stefanutti. In 1966 it entered the aerostructures business producing DC-9 fuselage panels. Aerfer and Fiat merged their aircraft businesses in 1969 to create Aeritalia. The concentration led to milestone programs such as the European attack aircraft Tornado, the ATR family and the AMX. Aeritalia was also a partner in the Boeing 767 since its inception and played a key role in the creation of the Italian space industry. Created in 1990, Alenia was immediately associated with Eurofighter and other advanced programs. The present Alenia Aeronautica was incorporated in 2002, when Finmeccanica spun off its divisions as independent companies.
Alenia's C-27J
was selected by the US Defense Department
as its Joint Cargo Aircraft, and the C-27J team was awarded a contract worth US$2.04 billion for 78 C-27Js in June 2007.
Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
subsidiary, is a Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...
company from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. Its subsidiaries
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
include Alenia Aermacchi and Alenia Aeronavali. Alenia Aeronautica owns ATR, a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
with EADS
EADS
The European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company N.V. is a global pan-European aerospace and defence corporation and a leading defence and military contractor worldwide...
.
History
Alenia Aeronautica was created in 1990 by concentrating the FinmeccanicaFinmeccanica
Finmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
aerospace and defense industries Aeritalia
Aeritalia
Aeritalia was an aerospace engineering corporation based in Italy, originally Fiat Aviazione before merging with Aerfer, and now part of Alenia Aeronautica....
and Selenia.
Alenia is endowed with the rich heritage of over 12,000 aircraft designed, built and maintained by its predecessor companies, which more famous names including Aeritalia, Fiat
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
and Romeo
Nicola Romeo
Nicola Romeo was an Italian engineer and an entrepreneur.Nicola graduated with a degree in engineering from the Politecnico di Torino in 1899. After that, he worked for a couple of years abroad and completed a second bachelor degree in electrical engineering in Liège, Belgium. In 1911 he returned...
. Airplane manufacture in the Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
area began in 1910 with SIT and continued with Pomilio and Ansaldo, which built the SVA reconnaissance biplane. The industry was consolidated by Fiat after the First World War. Under chief designers Celestino Rosatelli and Giuseppe Gabrielli, Fiat built some of the most iconic Italian designs including the CR.32 and CR.42 biplanes, the G.55 fighter and the G.91 family of light attack and trainer jets. The Naples plants trace their history to Nicola Romeo. Widely remembered for his role in Alfa sports car business, in 1917 Romeo founded an airplane manufacturer in Naples. The company was later absorbed by Breda. Its Ro.41 biplane was the standard Italian advanced trainer throughout World War II.
After the war it came under Finmeccanica as Aerfer and built the Sagittario II, the first Italian supersonic
Supersonic
Supersonic speed is a rate of travel of an object that exceeds the speed of sound . For objects traveling in dry air of a temperature of 20 °C this speed is approximately 343 m/s, 1,125 ft/s, 768 mph or 1,235 km/h. Speeds greater than five times the speed of sound are often...
aircraft, designed by Sergio Stefanutti. In 1966 it entered the aerostructures business producing DC-9 fuselage panels. Aerfer and Fiat merged their aircraft businesses in 1969 to create Aeritalia. The concentration led to milestone programs such as the European attack aircraft Tornado, the ATR family and the AMX. Aeritalia was also a partner in the Boeing 767 since its inception and played a key role in the creation of the Italian space industry. Created in 1990, Alenia was immediately associated with Eurofighter and other advanced programs. The present Alenia Aeronautica was incorporated in 2002, when Finmeccanica spun off its divisions as independent companies.
Alenia's C-27J
Alenia C-27J
The Alenia C-27J Spartan is a medium-sized military transport aircraft. The C-27J is an advanced derivative of Alenia Aeronautica's G.222 , with the engines and systems of the Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules...
was selected by the US Defense Department
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
as its Joint Cargo Aircraft, and the C-27J team was awarded a contract worth US$2.04 billion for 78 C-27Js in June 2007.
Company ownership
The company, fully owned by Finmeccanica, an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy. The company has offices in over 100 countries and a turnover in excess of 19 Billion Euros.Collaborations
- Eurofighter with EADS and BAE Systems
- AMX InternationalAMX InternationalAMX International is a joint venture between Alenia , Embraer and Aermacchi to build the AMX ground attack aircraft. The company is headquartered in Rome.The partner companies produce different sections of the aircraft as follows:...
with EmbraerEmbraerEmbraer S.A. is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate that produces commercial, military, and executive aircraft and provides aeronautical services.... - Dassault Aviation (among others) for the nEUROnDassault NeuronThe Dassault nEUROn is an experimental Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle being developed with international cooperation, led by the French company Dassault Aviation.-Description:...
Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle - Global Aeronautica, LLC (50%, with Boeing — for the Boeing 787Boeing 787The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It seats 210 to 290 passengers, depending on the variant. Boeing states that it is the company's most fuel-efficient airliner and the world's first major airliner to use...
)
See also
- Alenia Marconi SystemsAlenia Marconi SystemsAlenia Marconi Systems was a major European integrated defence electronics company and an equal shares joint venture between BAE Systems and Finmeccanica until its dissolution on May 3, 2005....
- Thales Alenia SpaceThales Alenia SpaceThales Alenia Space is an aerospace company born after the Thales Group bought the participation of Alcatel in the two joint-ventures between Alcatel and Finmeccanica, Alcatel Alenia Space and Telespazio.-History:...
, ex-Alenia Spazio and ex-Alcatel Alenia Space