Farnborough 2022: Leonardo to end AW149 Italian production and focus on UK, Polish needs
The AW149 multirole helicopter is bidding to win the UK's New Medium Helicopter programme. (Photo: Leonardo)
Leonardo has outlined long-term AW149 helicopter production plans, which will see an end to production of the 8t aircraft at the manufacturer's Vergiate facility in Italy.
Leonardo has revealed it is to stop Italian production of the AW149 multirole helicopter in a bid to concentrate on an order from Poland and potentially the UK.
A PLN8.25 billion (€1.76 billion) contract with Poland for 32 of the aircraft was signed on 1 July and will see deliveries take place from 2023 to 2029.
Leonardo is also considered a leading contender in the UK MoD’s New Medium Helicopter (NMH) programme, which targets production of 36 to 44 new rotorcraft to replace RAF Puma and other smaller fleets from 2025 onwards.
‘The first [AW149] batch for Poland, with deliveries starting
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