Leonardo announced with a press release that the company and the Italian Secretariat General of Defence/National Armaments Directorate signed on 18 January AW169M LUH Contract for Austria to exercise options for additional helicopters. The 304 million EUR contract for 18 additional helicopters follows an amendment to the Italy-Austria Government-to-Government (G2G) Agreement signed in December 2022, bringing the total number of AW169M LUH for the Austrian MoD to 36. The G2G initiative between Italy and Austria aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation and establish a strategic partnership in the rotorcraft sector.The AW169M LUHs are used for troop transport, combat operations, disaster relief and response, firefighting, mountain rescue, and MEDEVAC missions.The first aircraft was delivered during an official ceremony in December 2022, following contractual obligations, ushering in a new era in national defence and emergency response capabilities.
The Italy-Austria G2G initiative aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation and establish a strategic partnership in the rotorcraft sector, with Austria looking to Italy and the AW169M LUH programme for its modernisation plan and the replacement of its ageing Alouette III aircraft fleet, which has been in service since the 1960s.The AW169M represents the military variant of the AW169, the future generation helicopter developed by Leonardo and designed to the latest FAR/JAR/EASA requirements and those standards of the military, homeland security and government users. The global AW169 fleet, with more than 150 units delivered to operators in nearly 30 countries, has logged more than 135,000 flight hours in all operations and conditions.
Leonardo to Produce Additional AW169M LUH
