Habemus Helicopter: The first of up to 36 new AW169 transport helicopters, weighing around four and a half tons, for the army was ceremonially handed over in Langenlebarn (Lower Austria) on Wednesday morning. Alongside the Black Hawk, it is intended to become the army’s “workhorse” in the air.
The first AW169 multi-purpose helicopter from Italian manufacturer Leonardo was handed over on Wednesday morning in wintry temperatures around freezing. Regardless of the technical details – the helicopter is significantly larger, heavier, more powerful, but also more expensive to buy and operate than its predecessors and competing products – the deal is noteworthy for several reasons: After an initial procurement round of 18 units, the army only recently Days an option on 18 more AW169 drawn, as the “Krone” reported in advance. That should cost the republic another 300 million euros. This just got ahead of inflation. Because the cheaper fixed price guarantee for a further 18 units, which was negotiated before the Ukraine crisis, would only have applied until the end of the year. The deal is a government-to-government deal. Austria does not buy the device from the manufacturer (as it did with the Eurofighter), but from the Italian Republic. Among other things, this is intended to prevent or at least make it more difficult to pay bribes to decision-makers and officials. The nature of the deal also explains the presence of Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto at today’s ceremony. The purchase of 36 aircraft is part of a plan that looks decades into the future: the army currently has the AB-212, Alouette III, OH-58 and S-70 Black Hawks in service – all from different manufacturers and with different maintenance requirements. In the short term, the AW169 will replace the Alouette III, and in the medium term, the AB-212 and OH-58 will also replace it. The aim is that at some point only AW169 and S-70 will fly. Two versions for the army But back to the helicopter itself: the AW169 comes in two versions. Of the first 18 ordered, six will be “B” variants, which will be used primarily for training new pilots in Langenlebarn. This had already led to criticism, as very heavy, large and expensive helicopters with high operating costs will be used for training here in the future. The twelve remaining pieces of the military “M” variant are to be stationed in Aigen and equipped for different roles: evacuation of the injured, troop transport, but also ground combat with external weapons. Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner and the Lower Austrian Governor Johanna Mikl-Leiter (both ÖVP) saw in their speeches at the ceremony, “a new era for the air force has been ushered in” and thanked the Italian delegation, which had already arrived for talks the day before ” – only a few weeks ago a massive budget increase for the armed forces became known.Three times as much extinguishing waterRegardless of the question of price – depending on the equipment, the helicopters cost around 15 million euros each – experts agree that the AW169 meets the requirements of the armed forces – From troop transport to firefighting operations tz to avalanche rescue – exceeded. It can transport up to ten people at more than 250 km/h. In just a few minutes, the helicopter can be converted into a flying operating theater or for fire-fighting operations. And holds around three times as much extinguishing water as its predecessor, the Alouette.Monster with 2200 hp The Alps are no problem for the transporter either, with its two engines with 2200 hp it can climb up to 4500 meters depending on the payload. All this also has its price in day-to-day operations. The costs per flight hour including fuel and maintenance are estimated to be around 30 percent higher than those of the competition. The Ministry refers to more security in flight operations through this investment, and they also want to reduce operating costs through cooperation with the Italian Air Force.
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