A hybrid electric propulsion system for unmanned aerial vehicles is being developed by Avio Aero in partnership with Finmeccanica - Selex ES of Italy.

Avio Aero, part of GE Aviation, said the research project is part of an accord between Italy's Puglia regional government and the Italian Ministry for Universities and Research.

Funding for the two-year project is more than $5.6 million.

Other participants in it include the Polytechnic University of Bari, the University of Salento and the National Research Council of Messina.

"This Italian project marks a major step forward for Avio Aero in the UAV sector, a market segment with outstanding growth prospects where we can offer innovative technologies based on our continuous investments in R&D," said Paolo Salvetti, Avio Aero's vice president of Sales, Advanced Systems & UAV unit.

"A successful model of a partnership between the worlds of business and university, it fits in with Avio Aero's established network of relationships with national institutions ... ."

In the project, Avia Aero will use a Falco EVO unmanned aircraft from Finmeccanica - Selex ES as its reference platform for studying a hybrid propulsion architecture that uses an internal combustion engine, an electric motor and enabling technologies.

The Falco EVO can carry a 240-pound payload, has an endurance of as much as 20 hours, and a service ceiling of nearly 20,000 feet.