Fri, Jun 11, 2021
Total Requirement Is For 130 Aircraft With Contract Completion In 2024
Leonardo has delivered the first TH-73A training helicopter to the U.S. Navy.
The ceremony was attended by Vice Admiral Kenneth Whitesell, commander of Naval Air Forces and Commander, Naval Air Force U.S. Pacific Fleet; Rear Admiral Gregory Harris, Director of Air Warfare Division (N98); and Captain Holly Shoger, Program Manager of Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program. Also attending the ceremony was Leonardo Helicopters Managing Director Gian Piero Cutillo and members of local, state and federal elected delegations, including Congressman Donald Norcross and Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney.
The total requirement is for 130 aircraft with delivery to continue through calendar year 2024. The initial, firm-fixed-price contract just shy of $177 million awarded in 2020 called for the production and delivery of 32 TH-73A helicopters, initial spares, support, dedicated equipment, in addition to specific pilot and maintenance services. In November 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense exercised options for an additional 36 aircraft in a $171 million fixed-price-contract.
The TH-73A is replacing the aging fleet of TH-57B/C Sea Rangers, and will serve as the first training aircraft for thousands of Student Naval Aviators at NAS Whiting Field in Milton, FL, where all student helicopter pilots for the Navy, Marines and Coast Guard train along with several NATO-allied nations. To support this new fleet, Leonardo has announced the construction of a new comprehensive 100,000 sq. ft. helicopter support center at Whiting Aviation Park, located directly across the runway from NAS Whiting Field for seamless and immediate maintenance and repair support, with groundbreaking expected in December 2021.
The TH-73A, based on the Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) certified variant of the commercial AW119Kx, is powered by the Pratt & Whitney PT-6, and sports dual safety and hydraulic systems and advanced digital avionics by Genesys Aerosystems. The Advanced Helicopter Training System will modernize Navy training technology, and is manufactured to serve aviation students until 2050 or longer.
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