News Military
Austria takes delivery of first AW169M LUH helicopter

The first of 18 Leonardo helicopters of an initial contract, announced at the end of the end of 2021 was delivered to the Austrian Ministry of Defence, as Italy and Austria also signed a G2G Agreement amendment to exercise options for 18 additional aircraft. The Austrian MoD’s AW169M LUH program begins a new era in national defence and emergency response capabilities.

The handover of the first Austrian AW169M LUH aircraft, built at Leonardo’s Vergiate facility in Italy, was performed during a ceremony at the Tulln-Langenlebarn Brumowski Air Base. Austria’s AW169M LUH program is designed to replace the country’s ageing Alouette III aircraft fleet, which have been in service since the 1960s.

The AW169M LUHs will carry out a range of missions supporting Austrian defence requirements and the national community, such as troop transport, combat operations, disaster relief and emergency response, firefighting, mountain rescue and Medevac.

“It gives us great pleasure to see the first AW169M LUH here in Austria and we welcome the decision to further expand the fleet,” said Alessandro Profumo, Chief Executive Officer of Leonardo. “We look forward to providing an even greater contribution with the most technologically advanced and cost-effective solution to meet the stringent requirements set by the collaboration between the two governments.”