Fri, Jul 18, 2014
Italian Military Type Certificate Presented At Farnborough Air Show
The Italian Directorate of Air Armaments (ARMAEREO) has issued military certification for the new generation AW149 multirole military helicopter. The Type Certificate was signed and delivered to Finmeccanica – AgustaWestland during an official ceremony held at the Farnborough International Air Show in the presence of Finmeccanica Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Mauro Moretti, and several dignitaries and representatives from the Italian military.
An AW149 aircraft has completed in recent months certification trials with the Reparto Sperimentale di Volo (RSV), the Italian Official Test Center based at Pratica di Mare Airbase, near Rome. Operational evaluation tests will follow shortly.
“With the military certification of the AW149 we celebrate today another outstanding success in the long history of cooperation between our company, the Italian Ministry of Defence and the Italian Air Force," the company said in a news release. 'With this achievement the first new generation multirole utility aircraft in its segment in over 40 years is ready for the Italian armed forces and will deliver a major step forward in capability and cost effectiveness.
“The AW149 is also now ready to enter the international market to meet a number of fleet modernization requirements. We thank all the relevant Italian authorities for their contribution to this important milestone.”
A number of potential customers are assessing the AW149 globally and it is the ideal solution to meet the Polish Ministry of Defense’s need for a new multirole helicopter fleet thanks to its all new design, unmatched capabilities, attractive through life cycle costs and the significant contribution made to the programme by PZL-ASwidnik during its development.
The achievement of military certification makes the AW149 even more attractive to Poland. The selection of the AW149 built by PZL-ASwidnik for the Polish requirement would ensure local production, assembly and through life support and training, allowing PZL-ASwidnik to keep and enhance its long standing role in the rotorcraft industry sector, by supplying helicopters to Polish and international markets.
AgustaWestland says that as the only all new helicopter in its category in decades, AW149 is ideally positioned to replace thousands of ageing models in the next 30 to 40 years.
(Image provided by AgustaWestland)
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