Poland receives new AW149s
The Polish government received the first two AW149 helicopters from a fleet of 32 aircraft
The helicopters were delivered under an 8.25 billion zloty (US$1.98 billion) contract signed in July 2022, and will be used by the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade.
The aircraft were manufactured by Leonardo’s Polish subsidiary PZL-Świdnik. They were delivered at a handover ceremony in Nowy Glinnik on 30 October attended by Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland’s Minister of National Defense.
The aircraft will be used for a range of missions, including troop transport, air support, combat search and rescue and medical evacuation (medevac), and for the transportation of goods and supplies.
The AW149 five-bladed multirole helicopter is capable of maximum cruise speeds of 278km/h, with a range of around 920km, and a hover ceiling of around 1.8km. It is capable of carrying between 12 and 18 troops in standard configuration.
It follows the delivery of the first of a batch of four Navy AW101s in August.