Austrian Takes Felivery of Its First AW169M Helicopter as Austria Exercises Options for 18 Additional Aircraft

VIENNA --- Here you will find answers to questions about the procurement cooperation with Italy:

1. What is the procurement volume?
The government-to-government (G2G) contract has a volume of around 346 million euros. With the costs for infrastructure provisions (hangar construction or renovation, simulator building, other structural measures), for components to be provided and taking into account 20% sales tax, the total expenses for the Ministry of Defense amount to approx. 446 million euros. With a contract adjustment (i.e. with the purchase of a further 18 helicopters), the total volume is approx. 304 million euros. Taking into account the infrastructural measures and sales tax, the Ministry of Defense will save a total of around 427 million euros.

2. How much does a helicopter cost to purchase?
A helicopter of this type costs between eight and 15 million euros to purchase, depending on the equipment and additional packages.

3. How many helicopters will be procured?
With the option signed on December 21, 2022, a procurement of 36 units is planned in order to have enough helicopters available at all times to handle tasks. You have to include maintenance and training here.

4. What about value creation for the Austrian economy?
There are already a few companies in Austria that work as suppliers for the Leonardo Group. The Chamber of Commerce maintains close contact with the manufacturer of the AW169 in order to be able to involve Austrian companies in the added value.

5. Why did you choose the most expensive helicopter?
For a concrete comparison, not only the price, but also the capabilities (performance, speed, suitability in high alpine terrain, seats, payload, avionics equipment, ...) of a helicopter must be used. Helicopters of this size are in the same price segment. For example, the Norwegian police procured helicopters after the AW169 emerged as the best bidder and the Airbus H-145 lost.

6. Why was there no award procedure?
The BMLV was looking for a partner with whom cooperation in all areas is possible in order to be able to work cost-optimized over the entire life cycle of a system. No cooperation with partner nations can be established via an award procedure, such as joint use of simulators, optimized warehousing, modifications in the life cycle, but in particular joint exercises, deployment preparation and deployments.

7. Why was this model chosen?
Cooperation is key. In Italy, the BMLV has found a partner who is willing to cooperate with the Austrian Armed Forces in all areas of military helicopter operations. After Italy will procure up to 100 AW169s, which also meet Austrian requirements (40 helicopters have already been contractually fixed and some have already been delivered), this helicopter will be procured as part of an overall cooperation.

8. Do you already have experience with this company?
The Army operates the AB-212 manufactured by Leonardo Helicopter (formerly Agusta Westland). The AB-204 and the AB-206, which were or are operated by the army, also come from this production. The radar systems for airspace surveillance and military airfields are also products of the Leonardo Group.

9. Is the helicopter able to fly at night?
Yes.

10. When will the first helicopter land in Austria?
The first helicopter will be handed over to the Air Force by Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner on December 21, 2022. The other helicopters will be added in the following years and all 36 helicopters should be in Austria by 2028.

11. Where will the helicopters be stationed?
12 helicopters are stationed in Langenlebarn as operational helicopters, 12 helicopters as operational helicopters in Aigen/Ennstal and 12 as training helicopters/operational helicopters in Langenlebarn.

12. Can existing infrastructure be used or are there additional costs?
Parking and material maintenance are partly possible in the available hangars on the respective military airfields. In any case, new buildings or renovations of existing infrastructure will be necessary both for the helicopters and in particular for the simulators. Appropriate budgetary funds are reserved for this purpose.

13. What does the type decision mean for the pilots/technicians?
An initial package of retraining courses for pilots and technicians was procured. Future training will then be carried out by the army itself.

14. Can this helicopter do anything the "Alouette" III can do?
The AW169 can do everything the "Alouette" III could do and will do even more. This ranges from a higher transport capacity in the cabin to the ability to transport heavier external loads and the ability to fly under instrument flight conditions.

15. Which other nations have already introduced this helicopter militarily? What are the experiences?
Italy. There is the possibility of extensive cooperation with an EU partner that borders Austria.

16. Are there already other organizations in Austria or neighboring countries that use this type?
To date, more than 200 AW169s have been delivered, half of which are used in the emergency services. Among other things, the Norwegian and Slovenian air police operate AW169, in Italy, in addition to the armed forces, the Carabinieri and the Guardia de Finanza.

17. Can this helicopter be used for forest fires?
Yes. This also shows a higher transport capacity than the "Alouette" III. This could accommodate extinguishing tanks with 500 liters. The AW169 can absorb two to three times the amount of extinguishing water.

18. Are there counter transactions in connection with the procurement of this helicopter?
No

19. Can the helicopter be armed?
Yes, there are various mission kits that can be used to equip the helicopter for a variety of tasks.

20. How long is the planned useful life?
At least 30 years.

21. Which helicopters will the AW169 replace?
It replaces the "Alouette" III, which has reached the end of its technical service life after 50 years, and subsequently also the OH-58.

22. Does this helicopter have a very strong downwash?
The helicopter has a "downwash" similar to that of an H-145 or a Bell 429 because the rotor's circular area is larger and a comparable air throughput (= "downwash") is generated despite the higher weight.

23. Is this helicopter called a "paper helicopter"?
The definition of a paper helicopter is unknown. The fact is that more than 200 AW169s have already been delivered and the Italian armed forces have already procured around 40 units (22 for the Guardia di Finanza, 15 for the army) and will procure more helicopters (approx. 100 in total).

24. Isn't it too big for a training helicopter?
The advantage of using an identical helicopter for deployment and training is that the majority of the training is already carried out on the training helicopter and retraining for the deployment helicopter is no longer necessary. In addition, training tasks that are currently assigned to the squadrons can be completed by the training helicopters, thus relieving the task force. This leads to a higher availability of helicopters for the fulfillment of operational tasks. The AW169 is also used in Italy as a training helicopter.

25. There was a crash of this helicopter in England before. The cause was a technical defect in the tail rotor. Has this problem already been fixed?
To our knowledge, this was a one-off failure on the affected helicopter, with no impact on the rest of the fleet. However, the manufacturer constantly evaluates its systems and, if necessary, also makes appropriate modifications to the helicopters.

26. How many people can be transported?
Up to ten passengers can be transported.

27. What armament does the helicopter get?
The weapon system consists of the following components: on-board machine-gun (12.7mm), unguided rockets, laser-guided 70mm rockets, a FLIR, which can also be used for precise weapon deployment in addition to air reconnaissance tasks, and a weapons computer integrated in the helicopter, including a sighting option. The weapons will be built on a carrier that can be installed and removed from the helicopter within a few hours.

28. Why not just buy more "Black Hawk" instead of the AW169?
The S-70 "Black Hawk" is much larger and costs at least twice as much to buy. It is also more expensive to operate and not necessary for many tasks. The AW169 is therefore an ideal addition to the army's helicopter fleet.

29. When are the new three "Black Hawk" coming?
In February 2022, the third upgraded "Black Hawk" was handed over. The purchase of three more should be completed by 2025 according to the contract. However, delays due to the restrictions related to Covid-19 cannot be ruled out at the moment.

30. Where will the type maintenance shop be located?
The type maintenance shop, which is responsible for material maintenance, is located in Aigen im Ennstal.

31. How long does the training/retraining of the pilots/technicians take?
A type extension or retraining for pilots takes about ten weeks. The training period for technical personnel is six weeks, of which three weeks are theory and three weeks are practical training.

-ends-