Leonardo: five multirole AW119Kx helicopters for the Portuguese Air Force

Today, Leonardo has announced that the Portuguese Ministry of Defence has chosen the AW119Kx as its new multirole helicopter, to satisfy its various operating needs. The contract, which is worth over €20 million, is for the provision of five helicopters to the Portuguese Air Force, with the possible option of another two. Deliveries will start at the end of 2018, from the factory in Philadelphia, in the USA, and will be completed at the beginning of 2020. The AW119Kx will be employed for several operating tasks, including training, medical evacuation, transporting troops, and short-range, sea, search and rescue operations, and may also be used for firefighting missions.

The AW119Kx was chosen after a careful assessment of a number of competitors, and proved to be the solution that best satisfied the customer’s requirements. This contract further strengthens the longstanding collaboration between Leonardo and the Portuguese Ministry of Defence, in terms of helicopter, after the provision of the AW101s used by the Air Force for long-range, search and rescue, utility tasks, staff recovery and the defence of fishing activities, and of the Super Lynx helicopters employed by the Navy for naval missions, which are currently being upgraded.

The AW119Kx will guarantee greater versatility and performance than the single-engined helicopters currently used by the Portuguese Air Force, and extraordinary training capabilities for the crews operating the first-line models, namely the AW101 and Super Lynx.

The AW119Kx is a single-turbine helicopter equipped with advanced avionics, capable of providing better awareness of operating conditions, high performance and safety standards. The AW119Kx has the largest cabin in the category, it can carry up to six passengers, and has an abundance of all of the principal critical systems, a typical characteristic of high-class helicopters, guaranteeing an unparalleled level of safety and reliability. Nearly 320 AW119s have been ordered to date, by about 130 customers, in 40 countries.