Leonardo company new contracts and a collaboration agreement. At the Heli-Expo 2023 show (Atlanta, 7-9 March) the Italian defense group signed preliminary contracts for over 50 AW09 helicopters with various customers around the world and a collaboration agreement with Metro Aviation for the American market.
New contracts that add to the one dated March 7 between Leonardo and the Directorate of Aeronautical Armaments and Airworthiness of the Ministry of Defense for an important update of the fleet of C-27J Spartans supplied to the Air Force. However, the new contracts do not support the title of Leonardo which recorded a drop of 0,23% to 10,86 euros in Piazza Affari.
Leonardo: preliminary contracts for 50 new Aw09 helicopters
The Italian defense giant has signed preliminary contracts for more than 50 units with different customers in the world: Aero Service Representação in Brazil, Synerjet Latina SA in Colombia, Perú and Chile, Helitech Asia in South-East Asia, Safomar in South Africa, Diskopsa for Panama and Guatemala, Heliflite in Oceania and Aero Facility in Japan.
Furthermore, the company led by Alessandro Profumo has signed an important agreement with Metro Aviation, one of the largest private operators and providers of EMS services in the USA. The agreement aims to support the introduction and positioning of the AW09 helicopter in the country.
Leonardo's AW09 helicopter is increasingly in demand
Without a doubt, the AW09 is increasingly in demand, as he also explained Gian Piero Cutillo, MD Leonardo Helicopters. “The AW09 is getting very positive responses from around the world and operators have welcomed this model due to its unmatched characteristics and multi-role capabilities which represent a significant evolution over existing helicopters in this category. The preliminary contracts just signed are a clear demonstration of this”.
“What we announced at Heli-Expo is the culmination of three years of work, thanks to which the AW09 has benefited from considerable improvements that have allowed it to reach its final configuration with the level of competitiveness expected by the market – he continued Cutillo -. Furthermore, by combining our industrial capabilities and Metro Aviation's broad and recognized experience in operations and support further strengthens the value of the AW09, capable of providing operators with superior mission capabilities in a key single-engine market such as the American one". A 1:1 scale mock-up of the helicopter in its final configuration is exhibited at the show.
