This is how Leonardo’s helicopters take off in Saudi Arabia
Leonardo has announced a contract for 20 AW139s and a multi-year framework agreement for over 130 units with the operator The Helicopter Company (THC) of Pif, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund.
Leonardo's helicopters take flight in Saudi Arabia.
The Italian defense and aerospace group and Thc (The Helicopter Company), a subsidiary of the Public Investment Fund (Pif) of Saudi Arabia, have announced "a substantial growth in their collaboration with an order for twenty AW139 helicopters and a multi-year framework agreement for over 130 units” during an official ceremony at the Heli-Expo 2024 helicopter show in Anaheim, California, according to a note from Leonardo. At the same event the former Finmeccanica group signed preliminary sales agreements with the British company Sloane for nine AW09 single-engine helicopters and new orders for two AW109 GrandNew light twin-engine helicopters and two AW109 Trekke
The contract for twenty THC AW139s, continues the note, "primarily aims to strengthen the fleet used in health care and search and rescue services in Saudi Arabia". The Piazza Monte Grappa company did not reveal the value of the contract. The intention to acquire these twenty AW139s had already been announced at Heli-Expo in March 2023 .
The Italian giant led by Roberto Cingolani continues to grow in Saudi Arabia. The announcement follows the recent Memorandum of Understanding signed by Leonardo with the country with the aim of exploring collaboration opportunities in aerospace and defence.
All the details.
WHAT THE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH THC INVOLVES
The Framework Agreement for more than 130 aircraft includes a mix of AW109, AW169, AW139 and AW189K for different applications, with first orders expected by mid-year and deliveries to THC over a 5-7 year period.
When all firm orders for AW139s translate into deliveries, the Saudi operator will have a total fleet of around 50 AW139s for various missions such as air rescue, search and rescue and corporate transport in the country, making Thc one of the largest AW139 operators in the country. global.
WHAT SAUDI THC DOES
Thc is Saudi Arabia's first commercial helicopter operator and has been operating since mid-2019. It currently employs 47 aircraft serving different segments such as air rescue, aerial work, private charter flights and tourism in the Kingdom.
The Saudi fund established The Helicopter Company as part of its strategy aimed at activating new sectors to meet the growing demand for commercial helicopters in Saudi Arabia, explains Leonardo's note, adding that the company also supports "the realization of Vision 2030 and generates long-term commercial returns".
THE SUCCESS OF THE AW139 PROGRAM
“We are proud of this plan to substantially grow THC's helicopter fleet based on our technology. Our state-of-the-art platforms will support their expansion program with important rescue and transport missions for the communities served by the operator” commented Gian Piero Cutillo, MD Leonardo Helicopters.
So far the AW139 has registered orders for over 1400 units, from more than 290 operators in over 90 countries, for all types of missions. The global fleet of more than 1200 AW139s has logged over 4 million flight hours to date.
NOT JUST HELICOPTERS, ALL LEONARDO'S MOVES IN SAUDI ARABIA
Finally, as already mentioned, the orders with the Saudi operator follow the agreement signed between Leonardo, the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA) and the General Authority for the Military Industry (GAMI), on the occasion of the World Defense Show, held in Riyadh from 4 to 8 February.
“The MoU covers broad sectors in which Leonardo boasts consolidated technological expertise, including space, helicopters, sensors and electronics, air combat, multi-domain integration, unmanned systems, digital technologies, services and industrialization processes” explained a note from the group led by Roberto Cingolani
On the other hand, after Italy formally lifted the embargo on arms transfers to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, experts immediately argued that Riyadh could be on the market for some Italian defense platforms.
Without forgetting that last year, the Kingdom itself had expressed interest in joining the Gcap, the joint program of the United Kingdom, Italy and Japan for the sixth generation air combat system in which Leonardo is the industrial leader.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/smartcity/ecco-come-gli-elicotteri-di-leonardo-decollano-in-arabia-saudita/ on Wed, 28 Feb 2024 14:20:21 +0000.