Leonardo reveals the first members of Team AW149 UK

Featuring more than 70 companies from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Leonardo’s AW149 supply chain represents a cross-section of British engineering and manufacturing.

At the DSEI 2021 exhibition in London, Leonardo has spotlighted nine of these companies, all of which are supporting the AW149 as ‘the UK choice’ for the Ministry of Defence’s New Medium Helicopter requirement. Representing towns and cities from across the UK, each company provides a vital component to the AW149 military helicopter, from lights to avionics systems and other hardware and software components.

The companies revealed as Team AW149 UK members are Abaco Systems, Aerco, Chelton, Ford Aerospace, Forged Solutions, Incora, LFD, RDDS Avionics and Techtest Limited.

Highlighting small British companies

Nick Whitney, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters (UK), commented: “I am delighted to have the opportunity today to introduce Team AW149 UK and highlight some of the leading small and medium-sized British companies who will be involved in delivering the AW149 for the UK Armed Forces should we be selected.

“The companies we’re spotlighting today are diverse in what they do and where they’re located but they and we at Leonardo have one important thing in common, which is a commitment to providing the UK Armed Forces with the most modern, capable and cost-effective medium helicopter to meet their operational needs.”

Recently, the Italian Air Force received a HH-139B helicopter during an official visit to Leonardo’s helicopter facility in Vergiate, Italy.