From the Blackshape Facebook Page:
BLACKSHAPE AIRCRAFT showcased for 5 months in 19 countries in the Arabian Peninsula and Africa
Monopoli, November 12, 2013 – The Italian naval mission which will promote the technological and industrial excellence of Italy in the Middle East and Africa for 5 months will have among its leading players on board the aircraft carrier Cavour three hi-tech companies belonging to the holding Angelo Investments, the investment fund owned by Vito Pertosa: Blackshape, manufacturer of carbon-fiber aircraft intended for basic flight training of civil and military pilots; MERMEC, developer of measuring trains and railway signalling systems; Sitael, operating in the design and development of earth monitoring satellites. Leg after leg, port after port, the three companies will testify to the talent and high professional level of Apulian industry in strategic sectors for development of the countries visited. The Italian naval mission, which involves, in addition to the flagship of the Italian military fleet, the frigate BERGAMINI, the logistic support vessel ETNA and the open-sea patrol vessel BORSINI, will call at 7 countries in the Persian Gulf and 11 African countries and its objective will be to showcase the best of Italian production, research and technology in a series of countries that represent opportunities for public and private cooperation in addition to investment for the Italian economic and industrial system as a whole.
The naval group will set sail for its long international tour on 13th November 2013 from the port of Civitavecchia and will return to Taranto on 7th April 2014 after visiting the countries of the Arabian peninsula, crossing the Suez Canal and sailing right round Africa. In addition to promoting the excellence of Made in Italy products, the naval mission will carry out both peace-keeping activities (anti-piracy and training the navies of the African countries bordering on the coast) and humanitarian activities (operations will be performed during the voyage as already done in Haiti by surgeons and eye specialists).On each leg of the tour, during which the fleet will stop over in the ports of important cities such as Jedda, Gibuti, Abu Dabhi, Kuwait City, Doha, Dubai, Monbasa, Maputo, Cape Town, Dakar, Casablanca and Algiers, a series of activities, events and conferences have been organised in addition to official meetings with the institutions and local partners in collaboration with the Foreign Ministry and the international network of the Italian Embassies abroad.
The promotion mission involves the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry for Economic Development, Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Tourism and the Institute for Foreign Trade, with the participation of Fincantieri, Finmeccanica, Federlegno, Expo 2015, Pirelli, Piaggio Aereo, Beretta, Elt, Intermarine and Mbda, in addition to the above-mentioned Blackshape, MER MEC and Sitael.
I don't suspect they are hooking it up to the catapult though
https://www.facebook.com/blackshapeaircraft
http://www.blackshapeaircraft.com/blackshape-on-tour-on-the-aircraft-carrier-cavour