Power to the future Avio is a leading aerospace Company. It was established in 1908, only five years after the first flight by the Wright brothers which marked the advent of aeronautics with "heavier-than-air" equipment. Avio's celebrated SA 8/75 (50 HP, eight cylinders in 90° V formation, air cooled) was the first in a fast-growing family of Fiat engines and the onset of a long and fortunate series of technological and entrepreneurial challenges.

Nowadays, we have four major lines of business:

• modules and components for military and civil aircraft and helicopter propulsion systems;
• MR&O and Services for military and civil aircraft and helicopter propulsion systems;
• Space propulsion and tactical propulsion systems;
• Jet Derivative engines and Automation system for naval and industrial applications.

In the field of engines for civil aircraft, Avio is a partner in major development and production programmes conducted with the world's most important engine manufacturers: General Electric, Pratt & Whitney and Rolls Royce. To mention only the latest civil engine projects of major significance, Avio is working with General Electric on the development of a new 115,000 pound version of the GE 90, the most power aeronautical engine for civil applications. It will supply the accessory gearbox and parts of the low pressure turbine. With Rolls-Royce, Avio is currently working on the Trent 900, a modern turbofan, developing a thrust of 80,000 pounds; this engine is earmarked for the A380 "superjumbo" of Airbus Industrie, which is scheduled to start service in 2006. In its position as "risk and revenue sharing partner", Avio is responsible for the design, development, production and service support to the accessory gearbox, a component for which Avio is global market leader. Avio is also present in the segment of small-sized engines for business jets and regional transport aircraft with Pratt & Whitney Canada; under this programme, Avio's responsibilities will include the low pressure turbine and the power transmission. Among the latest joint projects undertaken by the company, we should mention the PW 308, which will power various aircraft, including the Falcon 2000EX business jet, as well as the new versions of the 3000 pound PW 600 family engines, also meant for commercial aircraft.

In the military sector, in addition to developing and supplying components, Avio assembles, tests, certifies and delivers propulsion systems to the national Armed Forces, for which it also supplies after-sales support. This is the case of the EJ200, that powers the modern Eurofighter "Typhoon", the RB199 equipping the "Tornado", and the new F124 for Aermacchi's future trainer M346; for the latter, Avio is responsible for a number of essential components, including the accessory gearbox, the low pressure turbine and the after-burner.

Avio has been selected by Pratt & Whitney to design and produce the accessory drive of the F119, a new engine to equip the F-22 "Raptor", the next generation fighter for the U.S. Air Force. Under two major collaboration agreements recently signed with General Electric and Rolls-Royce, Avio shall participate in the development of the F-136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter, the future U.S. Air Force multi-role fighter. Avio's responsibilities include the design, development and production of components for the low pressure turbine and the accessory drive.

In the helicopter sector, Avio works in liaison with leading manufacturers; in particular, under a programme of collaboration with General Electric it is responsible for developing and supplying the T700 engine in its two versions, T6A and T6E, to power European helicopters, EH101 and NH90, respectively.

In the marine sector, Avio supplies Jet Derivative engines for fast vessels and power units taken up by the Italian Navy and the armed forces of other countries. The LM2500 turbines, developed jointly with General Electric, are already present on the Garibaldi aircraft carrier and are going to equip Andrea Doria, the Italian Navy's New Major Unit, as well as the "Horizon" frigates of the Italian and French Navies. The company also develops and produces electronic automation systems for propulsion control, automatic pilots, steering management systems for ships and submarines.

Avio's MR&O for aeronautical and Jet Derivative engines are taking on ever greater importance, as the company supplies all-round support both to the Armed Forces and to major airlines. In this connection, Avio is developing innovative Services, such as the ISIS (In Service Information System) enabling its customers - only those in the military sector, so far - to monitor on-line all activities currently underway on their engines.
To ensure first-rate service quality in these crucial operations, Avio has established two excellence centres: one in Brindisi, integrating all activities to do with the maintenance of military aircraft engines, and another in Pomigliano d'Arco, near Naples, devoted to engines for civil transport.

In the space sector, Avio is a leader in the design and production of solid and liquid propellant engines, which are used by the Ariane launchers and will also equip Ariane 5 Evolution.In particular, Avio produces the boosters - the two huge solid propellant engines delivering most of the thrust needed at lift-off - and manufactures one of the most delicate components for the"Vulcain", the cryogenic engine powering Ariane's first stage, the turbopump that feeds liquid oxygen into the combustion chamber.Avio also develops and manufactures the liquid oxygen turbopump for the Vulcain II, the cryogenic engine of Ariane 5 for payloads of up to 10 tons.

In 2001 Avio created the ELV company, together with the Italian Space Agency, and was appointed system integrator by the European Space Agency (ESA), with the task of designing, developing and producing the systems for Vega, a launcher that will place satellites, with a weight of up to 1,500 kg, in a 700 km circular polar orbit. Two contracts regarding the VEGA were signed in 2002: one, between ELV and ESA, will cover all future activities to do with the development and qualification of the launcher; the other, between Avio and CNES, concerns the development and qualification of the P80 solid propellant engine, for the first propulsion stage of the VEGA, and in future, the technological demonstrator for the new generation boosters of Ariane 5.

Avio is also active in the area of tactical missile propulsion, where it is a partner in a number of major European programmes, including air-to-air Iris-T missiles, already selected by the Armed Forces of Germany, Canada, Greece, Italy, Norway and Sweden, and Aster, a ground-to-air missile. To consolidate its position even further and strengthen its role in the sector, Avio invests up to 10% in research & development programmes, also through an organised network of collaboration with a number of Italian universities and research centres, possessing top level resources and expertise in the disciplines of interest to the company.