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9th Aerospace & Defense Meetings Torino: a larger than ever event

From 28 to 30 November 2023 the ninth edition of Aerospace & Defense Meetings Torino took place in the huge Lingotto Oval building. The biennial "business to business" event organized by BCI Aerospace exceeded the previous paticipation record with over 625 companies from 30 countries, including the largest national and international manufacturers (the "buyers") and the entire Italian supply chain of small and medium-sized companies specializing in aerospace production. The presence of regional clusters of the specific industrial sector was also complete. A total of more than 8,000 business meetings were carried out.

Among the exhibited items Avio Aero displayed the mock-up of their new Catalyst turbine engine aimed to equip a number of business aircraft and the new European MALE RPAS drone.

The Leonardo Aircraft stand sported a large model of their C-27J NG transport aircraft fitted with the MAFFS II (Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System). The C-27J Next Generation Fire Fighters might become part of the national fire fighting capability like its predecessor, the G-222 fitted with the MAFA system, which operated during the last decades of the 20th century.

During the three-day event, a series of interesting conferences were held. In particular that regarding the "Net-Zero Aviation" centered on the development of new eco-sustainable technologies for aircraft propulsion within the scope of the European Clean Aviation initiative.

Another conference covering various aspects of the national defence was introduced by Luisa Riccardi, Deputy General Secretary of the Defence Ministry. The second speaker was Director of Armaereo, Lieutenant General Giuseppe Lupoli. He explained in detail the state-of-the-art of the trinational Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) to produce a sixth-generation fighter aircraft for Italy, the United Kingdom and Japan.

The smaller sector companies were keen to propose a series of new products to the "buyers". For instance E4 Computer Engineering is devloping, with the application of Artificial Intelligence, a "black box" which will act as a virtual assistant for technicians during the maintenance of every single component of an aircraft.

The French branch of the German group FEV has converted a small, four-stroke four cylinder, dual injection general aviation engine for hydrogen propulsion. It is projected to deliver 75 kW (102 HP) at 5,800 rpm. Its range of autonomy is still in course of definition. Since the volume of hydrogen in ambient conditions is immense, the aircraft requires to be fitted with a high pressure tank (35000 kilopascals) replaceable when almost empty. The true challenge will be to furnish airports and small airfields,with the equipment required by the new refuelling mode at an acceptable cost.

A number of local companies of the automotive sector were also present at the 9th Aerospace & Defense Meetings Torino. They were aiming to diversify production and their customer portfolios. A typical case was that of Ergotech based at Settimo Vittone in the Metroplitan area of Turin, a long-standing excellence in precision mechanics. The firm has started preliminay talks with new potential customers and is now extending their certification to the demanding AS/EN 9100 level which is necessary to enter the aerospace industry.

In the picture: The C-27J Next Generation Fire Fighter model on display in the Leonardo stand at the 9th Aerospace & Defense Meetings Torino. (Aeromedia)

(Aeromedia, November 2023)