Leonardo seeks global firms to build, tweak its new attack helicopter

ROME — Italy’s Leonardo is seeking industrial partners around the world to get on board its new AW249 attack helicopter as it flies two prototypes, readies two more and brings the platform to the Eurosatory trade show in Paris.

Bigger and faster than the aging Italian army AW129 Mangusta it is set to replace, and the only new attack helicopter now being developed in the West, the AW249 will be able to control unmanned aerial vehicles using large screens and helmet displays inspired by the F-35 combat jet.

“Because of the open architecture and our plan to keep it in service for at least 30 years, we are open to industrial collaboration to allow countries to become partners in the development of specific configurations, customizing equipment systems and localizing production for larger numbers,” a company spokesman told Defense News before Eurosatory.

Potential customers getting their industries involved could hail from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, said the spokesman.

The plan recalls how Leonardo, then known as Finmeccanica, licensed the use of the baseline design of the AW129 to Turkey, which beefed up the helicopter and later sold its renamed T-129 to Nigeria and the Philippines.

But the spokesman said Leonardo’s approach was very different this time.

“We are not telling governments to take a baseline and develop their own, we are inviting customers to join us from an industrial perspective,” he said.

Weighing in at 8.3 tonnes, the new AW249 is nearly double the 4.35 tonne maximum take-off weight of its predecessor while its top speed of 155 knots (178 miles per hour) outstrips the 126 knots of the AW129.

“What we have kept is the agility, the maneuverability, while adding capabilities,” said the spokesman.

Armaments include guided and unguided 70mm rockets, air-to-air infrared guided missiles and air-to-ground radio frequency or fiberoptic guided missiles, while the AW249 pilot will be able to task UAVs, control their payload and view images they send.

Discussions on allowing the heliopter to control loitering munitions are underway with the Italian Army, which will be the launch customer for the AW249 with first deliveries in 2027.

Getting in step with fifth-generation technology, the helicopter will feature a 20-inch display for the pilot and co-pilot, with the choice of putting up video and data on the screen or on the helmet display.

Leonardo officials said pilots will be able to put a map up in their visor, but out of vision so it enters the pilot’s visor display when the pilot turns their head.

Swapping data between screen and helmet also applies to sensor fusion data, which is built using sensors including infra-red imaging, radar, LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging radar, a low light camera and satellite terrain images.

The platform is nearing readiness after Italian defense and Air Force officials became seriously interested in the coaxial rotor technology used on Lockheed Martin’s Defiant-X. That enthusiasm has now waned since the Defiant-X lost out in the US Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program (FLRAA) program in 2022, and then saw its next hope for adoption, the U.S. Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft program, cancelled.

That, according to Leonardo officials, vindicates the firm’s decision to stick with conventional designs like the AW249, while adding new capabilities.

“The U.S. decision reinforces our road map,” said the spokesman.

“Whatever industry decides to develop to meet national requirements that involves different architecture, the cancellation of FARA is moving it far to the right,” he said.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利莱昂纳多公司正在世界各地寻找工业合作伙伴，以参与其新型 AW249 攻击直升机的研发。该公司正在试飞两架原型机，准备再制造两架，并将该平台带到巴黎的欧洲防务展。

AW249 比它即将取代的老旧的意大利陆军 AW129“猫鼬”更大、更快，也是西方目前正在开发的唯一新型攻击直升机。AW249 将能够使用受 F-35 战斗机启发的大屏幕和头盔显示器来控制无人机。

“由于采用了开放式架构，并且我们计划至少让它服役 30 年，我们愿意与工业界合作，让各国成为特定配置开发、定制设备系统和本地化生产（以扩大规模）的合作伙伴，”该公司发言人在 Eurosatory 展会前告诉《防务新闻》。

发言人表示，潜在客户可能来自东欧、中东和拉丁美洲。

该计划回顾了当时名为芬梅卡尼卡的莱昂纳多公司如何将 AW129 的基本设计授权给土耳其，土耳其对直升机进行了改进，后来将其更名为 T-129 后卖给了尼日利亚和菲律宾。

但发言人表示，莱昂纳多这次的做法截然不同。

他说：“我们并不是要求各国政府制定基准并自行发展，而是邀请客户从产业角度加入我们。”

新型 AW249 的重量为 8.3 吨，几乎是其前身 4.35 吨最大起飞重量的两倍，而其最高速度为 155 节（178 英里/小时），超过了 AW129 的 126 节。

发言人表示：“我们保留了灵活性和机动性，同时增加了其他功能。”

武器装备包括制导和非制导 70 毫米火箭弹、空空红外制导导弹和空地射频或光纤制导导弹，而 AW249 飞行员将能够指挥无人机、控制其有效载荷并查看它们发送的图像。

目前正与意大利陆军讨论允许该直升机控制巡飞弹的事宜，意大利陆军将成为 AW249 的启动客户，首批交付将于 2027 年进行。

为了与第五代技术接轨，该直升机将配备一个 20 英寸的显示屏，供飞行员和副驾驶使用，可以选择将视频和数据显示在屏幕上或头盔显示屏上。

莱昂纳多公司官员表示，飞行员可以将地图显示在头盔面罩上，但地图不会直接显示在飞行员的视线范围内，因此当飞行员转头时，地图会显示在头盔面罩的显示屏上。

屏幕和头盔之间的数据交换也适用于传感器融合数据，该数据由红外成像、雷达、激光雷达（或光探测和测距雷达）、低光相机和卫星地形图像等传感器构建而成。

在意大利国防部和空军官员对洛克希德·马丁公司“无畏-X”无人机所使用的共轴旋翼技术表现出浓厚兴趣后，该平台已接近准备就绪。然而，由于“无畏-X”无人机在2022年美国陆军的未来远程突击飞机（FLRAA）项目中落败，随后其下一个希望——美国的未来攻击侦察机（FARA）项目——也被取消，这种热情如今已有所减弱。

据莱昂纳多公司官员称，这证明了该公司坚持采用 AW249 等传统设计，同时增加新功能的决定是正确的。

发言人表示：“美国的决定强化了我们的路线图。”

他说：“无论哪个行业决定开发符合国家要求的不同架构，取消《外国代理人登记法》都会使其向右翼方向迈进一大步。”

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。