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The to start with flight of the very first AW249 prototype took position previous week. This was documented by the specialized aviation portal Essential Aero and it is proof of it photos hooked up by observers. Leonardo has not but verified the flight. Nevertheless, the next AW249 prototype is acknowledged to be in the ultimate phases of assembly. It ought to search at the air in a glow.
The Italian Air Power operates 32 A129D helicopters in battle and 16 A129C in education units. The machines have been in services because the early 1990s. A derivative edition of the T129 ATAK was also adopted by the Turkish military.
The improvement of the AW249 will very last until eventually 2025, and from the identical day the A129 helicopters will start off leaving assistance. So there just isn’t significantly time to hold off. By 2035, the Italian army intends to retire up to 48 AW249 helicopters.
The AW249 was (is) considered by the Polish aviation as element of the Kruk plan (Mi-24 substitution). Leonardo with the AW249 is a natural most loved many thanks to his ownership of the Polish helicopter enterprise PZL Swidnik. In addition the Polish military reconciles with PZL Swidnik vrtulníky AW149 and the two sorts, the AW249 and the AW149, share typical elements, particularly the main gearbox and the 5-blade rotor.
Nonetheless, in accordance to the hottest reports, Poland is rather thinking about American combat helicopters, or the much more highly-priced and intricate AH-64E Guardian, or the much less expensive AH-1Z Viper. In the circumstance of the second choice, of program, cooperation with the Czech army is presented.
The new AW249 assault helicopter flies for the initially time: https://t.co/mIZ7edhRlj
– The Aviationist (@TheAviationist) 23 August 2022
The Aviationist portal has identified Germany and Romania as other probable shoppers for the AW249. Germany is searching to exchange the Eurocopter Tiger battle helicopter and it appears the most important candidates are American guardian or just the AW249.
The style and design of the AW249 is regular: the gunner and then the pilot sit in tandem 1 powering the other in the entrance seat. The optimum choose-off fat is 8,000 kilograms, double that of the A129 sort (4,600 kilograms).
The machine is powered by a pair of General Electrics CT7-8E6 motors with a energy of 2×1900 kW. The vacation velocity is 250 kilometers for every hour, being in the air for at least three hours and an altitude ceiling of 6,000 meters. For comparison: the greatest acquire-off body weight of the Viper is 8,400 kilograms, two thrusters offer 2×1,300 kW of electrical power and the cruising pace is 300 kilometers for each hour.
The AW249 is created to run from ships of the Italian Navy: it can land on board, refuel, rearm and consider off all over again for a fight mission. It can function, for case in point, from the finished Trieste helicopter carrier or a trio of proven San Giorgio-course landing craft.
The most important armament of the AW249 consists of a 20 mm Standard Dynamics M197 rotating cannon mounted on an Italian TB 197B turret. The same sort of cannon can be located by Czech pilots on Viper helicopters. In the situation of missile armament, unguided i 70mm laser-guided missiles.
Up to 16 Israeli large anti-tank guided missiles (PTŘS) Spike ER, LR I, LR II can be carried less than the wings on a whole of four suspension points. There is also speak of British Brimstone Missiles. In the scenario of air-to-air armament, the Stinger or Sidewinder missiles can be positioned on the serious suspension factors of the wing. The transport of additional tanks is also viewed as.
Leonardo’s new AW249 assault helicopter is established to swap the AW129 Mangusta and has been in progress considering the fact that 2017. The AW129 was regarded as inferior to the Boeing AH-64 Apache, so it will be fascinating to see how the AW249 compares. Observe M197 20 mm cannon in the chin guard. pic.twitter.com/8iQ5hu4ht5
– Nicholas Drummond (@nicholadrummond) August 24, 2022
These are the programs. Nevertheless, arms integration is a very sophisticated process and the quantity of forms of built-in armament may perhaps differ from the primary strategies.
The helicopter will receive software package-outlined radios for immediate and satellite interaction (SATCOM), Website link-16 knowledge hyperlink, details link for stay image and video clip transmission, and VMF (Variable Message Format) text information formatting. The AW249 beat command technique will be included into Forza NEC’s Italian digital command and manage system.
A important skill is the means to cooperate with drones, usually referred to as MUM-T (Manned-unmanned teaming). AW249 pilots can totally manage the drones. Applying the movie-information hyperlink it will be probable to transmit image data both from the drone sensors and from the innovative guides (JTAC). Many thanks to the information from the drone sensors, the AW249 can launch the Brimstone PTŘS with a array of 32 kilometers.
The major sensor of the AW249 is taken from the A129: it will be a housing of the electro-optical sensor Toplite III from the Italian organization Rafale. For much better crew situational recognition, the AW249 will have impediment sensing systems, an altimeter and all standard navigational aids. Pilot helmets need to include things like HUD displays and augmented fact aspects.
The defense of the helicopter will be ensured by the Leonardo MAIR (Many Aperture InfraRed) infrared alarm program towards incoming missiles, the Elettronica ELT-162 alarm radar receiver and the Elettronica ELT / 577 Quiris active infrared directional jammer, which can use a laser to blind the infrared guided missiles.
Resource: The aviator
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