Italy’s Leonardo is developing the world’s only new-generation combat helicopter. Riccardo Niccoli visited the Vergiate factory to talk to Leonardo officials and to Maj Gen Salvatore Annigliato, Italian Army Aviation Commander, about the project
Benefitting from the operational experience acquired with the AH-129 Mangusta attack helicopter – mainly in Iraq and Afghanistan – the Italian Army (Esercito Italiano) and Leonardo Helicopters Division have created a new design, designated Nuovo Elicottero da Esplorazione e Scorta (NEES – new helicopter for scouting and escort).
Aiming to meet current and future operational needs, it is a completely new machine rather than an evolution of an existing platform.
The concept
The AW249 was conceived through collaboration between Italian industry, the Army and SEGREDIFESA (the Italian Defence procurement agency) since 2017. As Luca Colombo, Leonardo Helicopters’ head of marketing, explained, it has “marked a real change of paradigm: it was the Esercito that formulated its own request, its own requirements and specifications and, on the basis of this, the industry has developed the necessary product”.
Six aims
To allow the AW249 to operate effectively, the Italian Ar…
