Portuguese Air Force orders five new helicopters
The Portuguese Ministry of Defence has ordered five new helicopters for its Air Force from helicopter manufacturer Leonardo, in a deal worth in excess of €20 million.
The Portuguese Ministry of Defence has ordered five new helicopters for its Air Force from helicopter manufacturer Leonardo, in a deal worth in excess of €20 million.
The service has ordered five AW119Kx helicopters to fulfil its multi-use, single-engine requirements, with the option to purchase a further two units in the future. Leonardo will fulfil the order at its Philadelphia, US plant and aims to complete the deliveries by early 2020.
The Portuguese Ministry of Defence has said that it aims to use the helicopters for several functions, including training, medevac, troop transport and short-range maritime search and rescue (SAR) and, possibly, firefighting.
Leonardo says that the AW119Kx was selected ‘following a thorough and rigorous assessment of competing models, demonstrating that Leonardo’s solution was the best suited to meet the stringent requirements of the customer’.
Leonardo has previously supplied the Portuguese Ministry of Defence with AW101s for long-range SAR, utility, personnel recovery and fishery protection missions and Super Lynx aircraft for maritime duties.
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