Alenia Aeronautica: Launch of the Technical Activities for the “Green” Aircraft of the Future

CASERTA, Italy --- Today sees the start of the technical activities on the new technologies for the passengers transport aircraft of the future: the Green Regional Aircraft, a project led by Alenia Aeronautica, a Finmeccanica company.>> In Caserta, on the 7th and the 8th of October, representatives from the programme partners: industries, research centres - about 25 attend an international meeting, organised by Alenia Aeronautica, on planning methodologies and procedures, times, deadlines and budget of the innovative project.>> The new eco-compatible regional aircraft could enter into service before 2020, while flight tests will begin in 2013.>> Six technological platforms are part of the largest and most ambitious European research programme ever financed within the aerospace field, the Clean Sky JTI (Joint Technology Initiative), and Alenia Aeronautica leads the regional ecological aircraft programme the Green Regional Aircraft - with EADS CASA as co-leader.>> The Clean Sky JTI programme, launched in February 2008 in Brussels and included in the 7th Frame Programme of the European Union, will last 7 years and will have a total value of EUR 1.6 billion, while the Green Regional Aircraft has a value of EUR 174 million, equal to 11% of the whole research programme.>> The Clean Sky JTI has the target of studying the configuration of the commercial aircraft of the future, focussing on the eco-compatibility, energy efficiency improvement and acoustic impact reduction.>> The competitiveness of the whole European aeronautical system in the next decades will depend at a great extent from the programmes results.