{"id":37571,"date":"2024-06-18T06:37:11","date_gmt":"2024-06-18T06:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2024\/06\/18\/leonardo-seeks-global-firms-to-build-tweak-its-new-attack-helicopter\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:06:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:06:53","slug":"leonardo-seeks-global-firms-to-build-tweak-its-new-attack-helicopter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/battlefield-tech\/2024\/06\/18\/leonardo-seeks-global-firms-to-build-tweak-its-new-attack-helicopter\/","title":{"rendered":"Leonardo seeks global firms to build, tweak its new attack helicopter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ROME \u2014 Italy\u2019s Leonardo<\/a> is seeking industrial partners around the world to get on board its new AW249 attack helicopter as it flies two prototypes, readies two more and brings the platform to the Eurosatory trade show in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bigger and faster than the aging Italian army AW129 Mangusta it is set to replace, and the only new attack helicopter now being developed in the West, the AW249 will be able to control unmanned aerial vehicles using large screens and helmet displays inspired by the F-35 combat jet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of the open architecture and our plan to keep it in service for at least 30 years, we are open to industrial collaboration to allow countries to become partners in the development of specific configurations, customizing equipment systems and localizing production for larger numbers,\u201d a company spokesman told Defense News before Eurosatory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Potential customers getting their industries involved could hail from Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Latin America, said the spokesman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plan recalls how Leonardo, then known as Finmeccanica, licensed the use of the baseline design of the AW129 to Turkey, which beefed up the helicopter and later sold its renamed T-129 to Nigeria and the Philippines.<\/p>\n\n\n\t