Italian Prosecutors Investigate Disappearance Of 2,500 Military Aircraft Parts – Reports

MOSCOW, Feb 25 (Bernama-Sputnik/RIA Novosti) -- Italian investigators are looking into the disappearance of thousands of important avionics components from an air force warehouse in Brindisi amid suspicions of theft and possible resale abroad, Sputnik/RIA Novosti reported, citing Italian media.

The missing components include nearly 2,500 avionics and other parts intended for combat and transport aircraft, worth a total of approximately €17 million (US$20 million), la Repubblica newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The missing components were intended, among other things, for Tornado fighters, AMX attack aircraft, and C-130 military transport aircraft, the report added.

The Rome prosecutor's office and the military prosecutor's office have launched investigations against a dozen heads of air force logistics units, several generals, and executives of Ge Avio, an American multinational company and part of the General Electric Group, a leader in the development and maintenance of systems and modules for civil and military aircraft engines, the report read.

The shortage was reportedly discovered during an internal audit of warehouses at the Brindisi air base, which plays a key role in the Italian air force's logistics and maintenance system.

One of the versions being investigated suggests that some of the equipment may have been shipped to South American countries, including Brazil.

--BERNAMA-SPUTNIK/RIA NOVOSTI