On August 12, the Italian company Leonardo Helicopters flew for the first time a prototype of the new attack helicopter AW249.
What is known
This was reported by The Aviationist.Development of the helicopter began in 2007 under the NEES program. It included the creation of one prototype and three pre-production helicopters. A total of 48 cars are planned to be produced at the first stage. The value of the contract is 487,000,000 euros.
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AW249 should become a replacement for outdated Italian onesA129 Mangusta helicopters. They have been in service with Italy since the 90s. The prototype of the new product was equipped with two GE Aviation CT7-8E6 (T700) engines with a power of 2500 hp. every. The AW249 will be able to work in cold and hot conditions. The cruising speed of the AW249 will be 259 km/h.
The AW249's weapons will include Spike and AIM-92 Stinger guided missiles, as well as an automatic 20mm cannon on the nose. It is not yet known when serial production of the helicopter will begin.
Source: The Aviationist