Rega and Leonardo mutually cancel AW169 contract

The all-weather helicopters were originally scheduled for delivery in 2023. However, Leonardo has now informed Rega that while the FIPS system works in principle, as demonstrated during recent test flights in North America, it no longer meets the high-performance requirements outlined in the original agreement.

Consequently, the contract has now been cancelled by mutual agreement, and Rega has been reimbursed for the instalments it has already paid.

The now-cancelled contract was the result of a development project launched in 2015 by Leonardo at the request of Rega, to create the world’s first medium-weight helicopter with full de-icing capabilities. Currently such systems are only commercially available for heavy helicopters.

In a statement, Rega said: “From the beginning, Rega and Leonardo were aware that this was a pioneering project whose realization could not be guaranteed. That's why Leonardo deserves recognition and thanks for taking this risk.”

Rega added that ‘despite the technical limitations that currently remain, and precisely because of them, Rega will pursue its vision of an air rescue independent of weather conditions’, and that it would ‘follow technological developments’ for de-icing technology ‘very closely’.

Rega’s Operations Center organized a total of 18,017 missions in 2021, while its crews personally came to the assistance of more than 12,000 people.