Air Cavalry with new equipment. The first “Polish” AW-149 is already in service

The first multi-role AW-149 helicopter from the Polish production line was delivered to the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade. According to the head of the Ministry of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the first 10 machines under the contract concluded in 2022 were manufactured in Italy, and the next 22 will be manufactured at PZL-Świdnik.

On Thursday, at the military airport in Nowy Glinnik near Tomaszów Mazowiecki (Łódź Voivodeship), Kosiniak-Kamysz took part in the ceremony of handing over the AW-149 helicopter from the Polish production line to the squadron of the 25th Air Cavalry Brigade located there. The machine was entirely manufactured at the PZL-Świdnik plant, which is part of the Italian concern Leonardo.

– AW149 is a very good multi-role helicopter, which is produced in Poland in cooperation with our allies from Italy. The first 10 helicopters out of the 32 contracted came to us from Italy, but the next 22, including the eleventh one already in service with the Polish Armed Forces, will be produced in Poland, said the Minister of Defense.

The contract worth PLN 8.25 billion gross for the supply of 32 AW-149 multi-role helicopters for the Polish Armed Forces was signed on July 1, 2022. An important part of the contract was the creation and launch of a production line at PZL-Świdnik.

The head of PZL-Świdnik, Bartosz Śliwa, announced that the first helicopter for 25 BKPow was delivered 15 months after signing the contract, and after 20 months, full production capacity was created in the Polish plant. So far, 11 AW-149 helicopters have been transferred to Nowy Glinnik. The machines are capable of performing day and night flights with a wide range of applications. (PAP)

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