Leonardo announced today the delivery of the first of the two AW169 twin-engine helicopters for basic training for the Italian Army during an official ceremony held at the base of the 2nd Army Aviation Regiment "Sirio", in Lamezia Terme, in presence of representatives of the Armed Force and the Company. The delivery of the second helicopter is expected in the coming months.
The introduction of the new generation training helicopter (called UH-169B) allows the Italian Army to prepare crews for the future operational passage on the new advanced multirole Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), developed on the basis of the AW169 ' dual-use ', a program aimed at further modernizing and rationalizing the helicopter fleet of the Armed Force. Together with the two training AW169, which will facilitate the familiarization process of the Italian Army with the basic characteristics of the machine during the development of the new LUH, Leonardo is provided with a complete package of logistical support and training for pilots and maintenance personnel.
The LUH program aims to progressively replace various models that have been in service for some time, such as the A109, AB206, AB205, AB212 and AB412 to meet the evolution of operational requirements and benefits from a more efficient logistics based on a single new type. The introduction of the AW169 LUH, developed specifically for the Italian Army benefiting from the base represented by the AW169M military helicopter, also allows you to take advantage of logistic, operational, technical, certification and training synergies in view of the progressive growth of the fleet of AW169 of government operators in Italy. This aspect strengthens the possibility of carrying out effective and safe joint operations with other users of this modern helicopter model and represents an important qualitative leap in terms of national security, emergency response capacity and cost / effectiveness for the management of the entire cycle. product life for the next decades. The AW169 LUH program features an advanced multi-role configuration equipped with dedicated flight and mission systems, including, to name a few, skates and an advanced command, control and communication system to ensure full interoperability with other NATO assets.
Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Elicotteri, said: “We are pleased to celebrate with the Italian Army the delivery of their first AW169 in training configuration as the first important support element in view of the implementation of the new and wider LUH program. This program will certainly represent the beginning of a new era in terms of capacity, technical support, flexibility and interoperability in the light helicopter category. The new program takes advantage of the many decades of successful collaboration and continuous exchange of information with the Armed Force, aimed at fully understanding the changing operational needs and how to deal with them through the possibilities offered by new technologies. We are committed to supporting the Italian Army to ensure that it can derive maximum benefit from the new helicopters ".
