The Italian Army purchases AW-169MA helicopters

(To Tiziano Ciocchetti)
24/04/20

The Ministry of Defense has started the acquisition by AvEs (Army Aviation) of 15 AW-169MA (Advanced Multirole) helicopters, version with military specifications, directly expressed by the Armed Force.

It is a 4,5-tonne class machine, equipped with two 1.000 Hp propellers per rotor, twice the power of the AB-205 that they will replace. We remind readers that the 205, with various updates, have been in service for 40 years now, and have been used in many operational theaters carrying out numerous tasks (including MEDEVAC).

We believe that, with further orders of 169, the 109 and 412 (like those for the special operations supplied to the 3rd REOS) should also be replaced.

The same goes for the Air Force and the Navy, which need to replace the now elderly 212. A single line of machines, centered on the AW-169MA (with the relative modifications for the needs of each Armed Force), would allow to contain costs both from a training and logistic point of view.