The first satellite-guided flight of a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) Predator-A of the Italian Air Force between two of its bases (Amendola, Foggia and Decimomannu, Cagliari) has been successfully completed.

The operation, dubbed "Shardan 2009", will end on August 7. After flying through a specifically opened flying lane using a satellite navigation system, once approaching Decimomannu Air Base, control has been passed to the ground station to perform landing operations. This transfer, for the first time, allowed the Air Force to test the possibility of operating a UAV from long distances. Furthermore, it is a valid test for all the national airspace control and management systems, both for military and civil purposes. The Italian Air Force said that Italy is now the only nation in Europe to develop the capability to remotely operate aircraft, such as the Predator. This capability will now be used to control Italian aircraft deployed in Afghanistan.