On December 21, 2022, the ceremony of handing over to the Austrian Air Force at the airfield in Langenlebarn took place the first of 18 new Leonardo AW169 multi-purpose helicopters ordered, which received the official Austrian name Lion ("Lion"). This first helicopter in a simplified AW169B configuration (Austrian registration 5M-IA, serial number 772014) made an independent flight to Langenlebarn on December 13 from the Leonardo Helicopters airfield of the Italian company Leonardo in Vergata (Lombardy). The handover ceremony was attended by Austrian Defense Minister Claudia Tanner, who simultaneously signed an addendum to the intergovernmental agreement with Italy on the purchase of 18 more AW169 helicopters for the Austrian Air Force by 2028, which brings the total number of helicopters of this type ordered by the Austrian side to 36 units.
The first Leonardo AW169B helicopter received by the Austrian Air Force (Austrian registration 5M-IA, serial number 772014). Vienna, 20.12.2022 (c) Austrian Armed Forces Recall that an intergovernmental agreement on the acquisition for the Austrian armed forces of the first 18 new AW169 multipurpose helicopters manufactured by Leonardo Helicopters (a division of the Italian company Leonardo) was signed on December 2, 2021 in Rome.
The purchase is carried out as part of a joint procedure for the acquisition of helicopters of this type with the Italian Ministry of Defense through the Aviation Equipment and Armament Procurement Department (Direzione degli Armamenti Aeronautici e per l'aeronavigabilità - ARMAEREO), which is part of the latter. A formal contract worth 350 million euros, including technical support and training of personnel, was signed by Austria with ARMAEREO on December 20, 2021 and included the delivery of 18 helicopters, six of which are made in a simplified training and light transport (actually standard commercial) version of AW169B, and the remaining 12 - in a special military version of AW169MA with the possibility of carrying weapons. The first AW169B helicopter has been delivered now, the delivery of the remaining 17 helicopters is planned to be made by the end of 2024, and one ground simulator should also be delivered. [...]
Now an addendum to the 2021 agreement has been signed, according to which the Austrian side acquires 18 more helicopters with the same distribution - six in the AW169B variant and 12 in the special military AW169MA variant, which brings the total number of purchased vehicles to 36. Deliveries of all of them should be completed by 2028. Austrian Defense Minister Claudia Tanner said at the signing ceremony that the total cost of the program for the purchase of 36 helicopters, including the creation of appropriate ground infrastructure, the construction of new hangars, a training center, etc., will amount to 873 million euros.
AW169 helicopters are to replace in the Austrian Air Force (Luftstreitkräfte) French-made light helicopters Sud Aviation SA 316B Alouette III, operated since 1967, and which are scheduled to be decommissioned at the end of their life by the end of 2023. Currently, the Austrian Air Force has 21 Alouette III helicopters out of 28 purchased at the time, of which 15 are being equipped with a squadron of communication helicopters (Verbindungshubschrauberstaffel - VeHSSta) at the Aigen im Enstal airfield, and six more are being equipped with a helicopter training unit (Lehrabteilung Hubschrauber) in Langenlebarn. The tender for the replacement of Alouette III helicopters was announced by the Austrian government in August 2018, and in September 2020, the AW169 helicopter was announced. Of the 36 helicopters being purchased, 12 in the AW169MA variant should go to the VeHSSta in Aigen im Enstal, another 12 in the AW169MA variant, purchased under the now signed supplement, for equipping a new squadron in Langenlebarn, and 12 AW169B - to the training squadron in Langenlebarn.
Austria became the first foreign customer of the AW169MA helicopter, which is a special military version of the AW169 commercial helicopter produced by AgustaWestland (now Leonardo Helicopters as part of Leonardo) since 2015. The AW169 helicopter has a maximum take-off weight of up to 4850 kg, is equipped with two Pratt & Whitney PW210A turboshaft engines with a take-off capacity of 1000 hp and carries up to 7-10 passengers.
In April 2020, the Italian Ministry of Defense signed with Leonardo a contract worth 337 million euros for the development of AW169-based military modification AW169MA for Italian army aviation under the program of a new light (in fact, medium) multipurpose helicopter Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and for the supply of the first 15 new AW169MA helicopters in 2022-2023 (their delivery is combined with an Austrian order). In 2020, the Italian army were alsohtml" target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> two AW169B (UH-169B) training helicopters have been delivered in a commercial configuration, ordered under a contract of the Italian Ministry of Defense dated December 2019.
In November 2018, 22 helicopters in the "paramilitary" modification AW169M were ordered by the Italian Financial Guardia (Guardia di Finanza) under a contract worth 280 million euros, the first helicopter was delivered to it in November 2019, the delivery of the rest is planned for the end of 2024 (one helicopter was already lost in an accident in 2021). Another AW169 helicopter was delivered to the Argentine Gendarmerie, and four in a standard commercial configuration for use as training were received by the Qatar Air Force in 2021-2022.
The first Leonardo AW169B helicopter received by the Austrian Air Force (Austrian registration 5M-IA, serial number 772014). Langenlebarn, 12/21/2022 (c) Wolfgang JarischThe first Leonardo AW169B helicopter received by the Austrian Air Force (Austrian registration 5M-IA, serial number 772014).
Vienna, 20.12.2022 (c) Austrian Armed Forces
