AgustaWestland AW-149 - discussione ufficiale

[TT-1 Pinto]

AW149 ... Leonardo prepara la linea di produzione nel Regno Unito in vista della competizione "New Medium Helicopter" (NMH) ...

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Leonardo Helicopters has begun work to establish a UK production line for the AW149 super medium helicopter it is proposing for the UK’s £1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) New Medium Helicopter (NMH) requirement.
The company has ordered tooling to support the creation of the line at its facility in Yeovil, England, and could be ready to build helicopters by year-end if required, even though the competitive program has only just been launched by the UK Defense Ministry. 
The company believes that the preparatory work will make its bid even more competitive, enabling the 8.6-ton rotorcraft to enter service as early as 2025.
Speaking in front of the AW149 on Leonardo’s stand here at Farnborough, Norman Bone, the chairman and chief executive of Leonardo in the UK, says the decision to begin ordering tooling and preparing the production facilities was “evidence” of the company’s commitment to “deliver the best onshore offer for the NMH program.”

... aviationweek.com ... https://aviationweek.com/shownews/farnborough-airshow/leonardo-prepares-uk-production-line-ahead-nmh-contest ...

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[TT-1 Pinto]

MH-139 Grey Wolf ... qualcosa si muove ...

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After months of unexpected delays, the Air Force’s MH-139 Grey Wolf is set to enter military utility testing within the coming month, a service program officer said.
The Air Force first announced flight testing of the Grey Wolf, intended to patrol the service’s sprawling intercontinental ballistic missile fields, in February 2020, and the service was hoping to declare initial operating capability by 2021.
Those plans were delayed, however, when the helicopter ran into trouble getting Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification. 
As a result, the Air Force’s planned purchase of eight helicopters in fiscal 2021 was delayed, and the buy in fiscal 2022 was skipped completely, the service announced in June 2021.
The FAA certification process has moved slowly since then, but a number of key supplemental type certifications were approved recently, Joe Lask, deputy division chief of helicopter programs for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, told reporters at the Life Cycle Industry Days conference Aug. 10.

... airforcemag.com ... https://www.airforcemag.com/after-yearlong-delay-mh-139-ready-for-military-utility-testing/ ...

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[engine]

La Polonia arma i suoi 149 :

https://www.rid.it/shownews/5821/hellfire-missiles-on-polish-aw-149-and-ah-64e-guardian-helicopters

Modificato 13 Luglio 2023 da engine

[TT-1 Pinto]

Guerra di parole ...

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I dirigenti del produttore di elicotteri Leonardo si sono opposti all’affermazione di un concorrente secondo cui l’elicottero AW149 della compagnia italiana, in corsa per il programma britannico New Medium Helicopter, non è abbastanza di livello militare.
Mike Morrisroe, leader di AgustaWestland per quanto riguarda le campagne di elicotteri nel Regno Unito, Mercoledì ha contestato un'affermazione di un dirigente di Lockheed Martin, fatta il giorno precedente a Londra, in occasione della fiera delle armi DSEI, secondo cui l'offerta del Black Hawk della società con sede negli Stati Uniti era l'unica sviluppata esclusivamente per uso militare.

... defensenews.com ... https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2023/09/13/in-british-helicopter-race-war-of-words-emerges-over-military-grade/#:~:text=Europe-,In British helicopter race%2C war,words emerges over 'military grade'&text=LONDON — Executives at helicopter maker,'t military-grade enough. ...

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[engine]

Intanto la Polonia comincia a riceverlo.

https://www.blogbeforeflight.net/2023/10/polish-land-forces-receive-first-aw149.html

Esercito e AM ci faranno un pensierino , per sostituire gli ultimi 205 / 212 / 244 e lo AW 139 ?

[Flaggy]

E' un po' più leggero dell'NH-90 e anche qui vale la stessa risposta data in quella discussione: c'è altro all'orizzonte...

 

[Flaggy]

Strada spianata per Leonardo nel Regno Unito...

https://theaviationist.com/2024/08/31/new-medium-helicopter-program-update/

[engine]

A meno che gl’inglesi non mollino tutto , cosa già accaduta in passato  : 

 https://euro-sd.com/2024/08/major-news/40065/airbus-and-lm-pull-out-of-nmh/

… “ The NMH programme is thus left with Leonardo Helicopters UK, offering the AW149, as the sole remaining bidder, although it is unclear whether the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) will proceed on that basis, while the programme may yet be cancelled anyway by the UK’s ongoing Strategic Defence Review, due to be published in the first half of 2025. “ ……