Leonardo signed two contracts with the Air Force and Airworthiness Department of the Ministry of Defense regarding the supply of a first batch of 5 Aermacchi M-345 training aircraft and the start of the development and delivery of the new exploration and escort helicopter (NEES) of the Italian army. The contracts have a total value of over 500 million euros.
Mauro Moretti, Managing Director and General Manager of Leonardo said: "The signing of these contracts is the result of a constructive dialogue between the Italian government and the industry that has led to the definition of needs and the identification of the best technological responses.
Thanks to the agreement reached we will be able to provide the national customer with state-of-the-art solutions by optimizing the use of available economic resources and developing new technologies, skills and industrial processes in our country".
The Military Air Force has identified a total of about 45 M-345 (whose Arms Force ID is T-345) to gradually replace the 137 MB-339 today in service and come online from 1982. The new planes will integrate the 18 fleet of Aermacchi M-346 already ordered and used for the advanced training phase of Military Air Force pilots, thus forming the training system for the most advanced military pilots in the world. The M-345, thanks to its performance and the advanced ground-based integrated training system, will allow the Military Air Force to significantly improve training effectiveness, improved efficiency and reduced operating costs. The first delivery is expected in the 2019.
The multi-year contract for the new Italian helicopter exploration and escort helicopter (NEES) foresees, in particular, the study, development, industrialization, production and testing of a prototype and the first three production helicopters. Through this new program, based on an overall requirement of 48 units, the Army will be able to replace the fleet of AW129 helicopters currently used and destined to be withdrawn from the operational service within 2025, after more than 35 years of activity. The NEES program will benefit from the long experience accumulated by the Army thanks to the AW129 and Leonardo's know-how in the field of helicopters dedicated to this type of mission, allowing the Armed Force to equip itself with a technologically advanced product, even more performing and with lower operating costs to meet the new operational needs in the context of the changed scenarios for the next 30 years.
