Australian Navy retires the A109
The Australian Navy has retired its fleet of AgustaWestland A109 helicopters as the type makes way for the introduction of the Bell 429.
The aircraft, which are assigned to 723 Squadron based at HMAS Albatross near Nowra, flew their final missions on 9 March.
The A109s first entered navy service in June 2007. Provided and maintained by Raytheon Australia, the aircraft flew over 6,000 hours and qualified over 60 aircrew in that time.
The helicopters were part of the navy’s Retention and Motivation Initiative (RMI) that aims to provide development opportunities for junior pilots, aviation warfare officers and aircrewmen awaiting
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