Alenia Aeronautica celebrates today its 40th anniversary as the Italian industrial leader in aeronautics. It was on 12 November 1969 that Italy’s two largest airframers – Aerfer, based in Naples and owned by IRI-inmeccanica, and Fiat, in Turin – agreed to form Aeritalia.

IRI also added its Salmoiraghi avionics business. The main goal was that to increase size and capabilities to compete on the international market. Each partner brought over half a century of history and experience, including an already considerable tradition of international cooperation. In 1976 Fiat sold its shareholding to Finmeccanica, which became the sole owner.

Before then, Aeritalia had already launched crucial programs for the development of Italian industry: the G.222, which flew in 1970 and paved the way for the present C-27J success; the Boeing 767, the first step towards today’s leadership in composite materials; the Tornado, a milestone in European military programs. Soon thereafter it would launch the bestselling ATR 42 regional turboprop. Steered in its early years by experienced executives like Renato Bonifacio and Fausto Cereti, underpinned by dedicated staff and workers, Aeritalia gradually fused public and private sector cultures, Northern and Southern approaches, building a single integrated company capable of managing international programs like AMX and partnering in even more ambitious enterprises like Eurofighter.

The Italian space industry was also born under Aeritalia, both in terms of satellites (with the famous Sirio) and of pressurized structures (with Spacelab). In 1990 Finmeccanica decided to merge Aeritalia with its Selenia electronics business to create Alenia, answering a need not very different from that on 1969. Today’s Alenia Aeronautica is a further step in this unbroken line.

Source: Alenia