Leonardo reopens earthquake-damaged facility in Italy

July 25 (UPI) -- Leonardo officially inaugurated its new airborne systems facility in L'Aquila, Italy, on Tuesday.

The rebuilt facility, which will produce Mode-5 identification friend/foe systems and airborne communications equipment, is 48,000-square feet in size and is now built to withstand earthquakes.

The factory originally on the site in the country's Abruzzo region was damaged in a 2009 earthquake.

"The opening of a new industrial park, where state-of-the-art technologies are developed by highly skilled, specialist staff, is a concrete symbol of Leonardo's commitment to the revival of the Abruzzo region's economy," Leonardo Chief Executive Officer Alessandro Profumo said in a press release.

"The expertise of our people here in L'Aquila contributed to Leonardo having recently been awarded a major contract by the UK Ministry of Defense to upgrade the identification friend/foe systems on more than 350 aircraft, ships and ground emplacements. We are confident that this site will be an important driver for growth in the region."

Leonardo started reconstruction of the site immediately following the 2009 earthquake. During the re-building, employees were temporarily moved to other facilities to keep production on schedule.