The new generation Leonardo AW249 attack helicopter takes part in the Stella Alpina 2024 operational exercise
One of Leonardo's pre-production AW249s during a demonstration flight at the company's Family Day event in September 2024.
During the Stella Alpina 2024 exercise, specialized units of the Italian Army were trained in the use of new systems and technologies, including a prototype of the new AW249 attack helicopter and electronic warfare systems.
A prototype of the new Leonardo AW249 next-generation attack helicopter took part in the Italian Army's Stella Alpina 2024 operational exercise at Lake Fedaia, near Trento in north-eastern Italy. The helicopter, which is currently undergoing tests, was integrated into the armed forces as part of a "multi-domain tactical operation".
In the two-week exercise, 600 personnel from specialized units of the Italian Army were trained to counter new threats in a multi-domain scenario, integrating innovative technologies. In fact, among the objectives set by the Italian Ministry of Defense was the deployment of systems, equipment and vehicles recently introduced into service or currently being acquired, such as the AW249.
"One of the new AW249 reconnaissance and support helicopters of the Italian Army took part today for the first time in the Stella Alpina 2024 operational exercise on Lake Fedaia (Trento, Italy). The rotorcraft is a pre-production model currently participating in the AW249 program," a Leonardo Helicopters spokesman said on September 18, 2024.
The development of this combat testing program is driven by the complexity of modern combat scenarios demonstrated by current conflicts. Armed forces around the world are re-equipping and training to meet these new scenarios, as demonstrated by the focus on multi-domain operations and advanced technologies in many major exercises.
"Today's combat has changed the shape and patterns of the battlefield," said Lieutenant General Carmine Masiello, Chief of Staff of the Italian Army. "On the one hand, we have capabilities and weapons systems that we know well and know how to use, but which twenty years of peacekeeping operations have put into storage: Tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles; to this are added almost forgotten forms of conflict such as trench warfare and minefields."
One of the pre-production Leonardo AW249 models during a demonstration flight at the Family Day celebration at the company's facilities in September 2024
“On the other hand, advanced technologies are used, such as Drones, hypersonic missiles, smart munitions, weapons systems operating in electromagnetic space, in cyberspace and through outer space,” the general continued. “In short, it is a condensation of the past – large-scale conventional conflict – and the future – new areas and digital technologies – that poses to the land military instrument clearly complex challenges for which the Italian Army must be prepared.”
A few days before the final event of the exercise, Leonardo Helicopters carried out demonstration flights at the “Family Day” celebration held at its facilities in Vergiate.
Exercise Stella Alpina 2024
The Italian Army said in a press release that the Stella Alpina 24 exercise was planned to demonstrate the process of adapting capabilities and technological innovations that the Army carries out in a multi-domain context to face the threats and challenges of modern military scenarios.
As mentioned earlier, the main objectives of the exercise included the deployment of systems, vehicles and equipment that have just entered service or are in the process of being acquired. The overall objective is to adapt the land warfare instrument to new paradigms of armed conflict and new ways of conducting warfare, both from a technological and digital perspective.
One of the pre-production Leonardo AW249 models during a demonstration flight at the Family Day celebration at the company's facilities in September 2024.
The exercise included a tactical scenario aimed at recapturing a “high value asset” represented by the Lake Fedayah Dam. The recapture operation was conducted using conventional warfare capabilities, supported by and utilizing key technological innovations pioneered by the Service.
The protagonist among the new technologies in the exercise was the newly formed 9th Reparto Sicurezza Cibernetica (Cybersecurity Unit) Rombo, which created a combat network and a multi-domain “tactical bubble.” The Army’s press release explained that the bubble included a series of cyber and electromagnetic defense measures that allowed the protection of units, their systems and formations, as well as achieving cyber superiority and control of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The "tactical bubble" allowed for maximizing the effectiveness of combat operations and the protection of the forces deployed at the Fedaia Dam. Among them, the army used infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineering units of the Brigata Alpina (Alpine Brigade) "Giulia", special forces of the 185 Regimento Paracadutisti Ricognizione ed Acquisizione Obiettivi (185th Parachute Reconnaissance and Target Acquisition Regiment) and helicopters of the army in the exercise. aviation.
The Defense Ministry press release stated that “integration of cyber capabilities with electromagnetic spectrum capabilities has proven critical to maintaining a strategic advantage over potential adversaries with equal combat capabilities.”
“Remotely controlled air, land and sea systems, new satellite communications technologies, anti-drone defense systems, autonomous or remotely controlled vehicles and weapons systems, threat detection capabilities supported by artificial intelligence, and advanced command and control systems represent a new dimension of an increasingly technologically advanced and future-oriented Army,” the press release continued.
One of the pre-production examples of the Leonardo AW249 during a family day at the company's facilities in September 2024.
AW249
The AW249, designated AH-249A NEES (Nuovo Elicottero da Esplorazione e Scorta – New Helicopter for Reconnaissance and Escort) and nicknamed Fenice (Italian for "Phoenix"), is the only new Western attack helicopter developed from scratch in recent years.
The helicopter is being developed to replace the A-129 Mangusta, which has been in service with the Italian Army since the 1990s and has been upgraded over the years to the current AH-129D variant, which is scheduled to be retired from service with the AH-129 from 2025. In January 2017, the Italian Army awarded Leonardo a €487 million ($515 million) contract to develop a successor to the Agusta A129 Mangusta attack helicopter.
The total cost of the AW-249 was announced at €2,7 billion, including a development cost of €487 million. A total of 59 Mangusta helicopters have been delivered to the Italian Army, and the type has been in service since 1990; by 2018, only 32 A129s were reportedly still airworthy.
At the time of the contract, the Mangusta was scheduled to be retired from 2025, after which the type was planned to be replaced by 48 AW249s, which the Italian military designates as AH-249s.
Prior to the 2017 contract, the Italian Army and Leonardo had been studying options for the future of the Mangusta, but the Army rejected one proposal to replace the type with a purely attack-focused variant of the Agusta Westland AW149 helicopter; instead, it opted for a series of low-risk upgrades and enhancements to be applied to existing A129s to improve its protection, situational awareness and information processing capabilities as a medium-term measure.
At the Dubai Airshow in November 2017, Leonardo said it was actively seeking partners to collaborate on the AW249 project; one candidate in the pipeline was state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries, which is separately developing its own successor to the Mangusta-based T129 ATAK, the T929 ATAK 2.
In July 2018, Leonardo and Polish Armaments Group signed a letter of intent to cooperate in a tender for the supply of AW249s for the Polish Kruk attack helicopter programme and suggested using their subsidiary PZL-Świdnik for local production of rotorcraft components, but the contract fell through, with the Poles choosing the AH-64E Apache.
The AW249, which made its maiden flight on 12 August 2022, incorporates advanced technologies that enhance digitalisation, connectivity, sensor fusion, information superiority and interoperability. These features make it a force multiplier in multi-domain operations, seamlessly integrating across air, land, sea, space and cyber domains.
Many people mistakenly believe that the AW249 is an AH-64 Apache, but other than the tandem cockpit, the similarities are minimal. The AW249 is a separate evolution of its predecessor, the AW129, which traces its roots back to the A129, which was developed in the late 1970s and first flew in 1983.
In fact, the original A129 was born as an evolution of the concept introduced by the AH-1 Cobra, the first to use a tandem cockpit configuration. Unlike the Cobra, the Mangusta was built on a twin-engine configuration with a four-bladed main rotor. The helicopter was conceived as a pure anti-tank platform and was armed only with TOW anti-tank missiles and unguided rockets. It was not until the 2000s with the A129CBT upgrade that the helicopter was equipped with a 20mm M197 cannon.
In general, the design of the AW249 is based on the AW129, but the AW249 has a new, slightly enlarged fuselage with a length of 17,63 meters, in contrast to the AW129 with a fuselage length of 12,28 meters, the helicopter has a larger diameter four-bladed main rotor of 14,6 meters versus 11,9 meters for the AW129, the helicopter is equipped with a new transmission and avionics.
A tablet in the Italian Army's presentation at the 2017 conference in Krakow listed a maximum takeoff weight of 7-8 tonnes, up from the AW5's 129 tonnes; it also has a weapons load that has been more than doubled from 800 kg (1 lb) to nearly 800 kg (2 lb), as well as increased cruise speed, ceiling and endurance. Most of the dynamic elements, such as the transmission and rotor, have been borrowed from the AgustaWestland AW000 utility helicopter.
The helicopter is equipped with new engines – two American turboshaft 2 × General Electric CT7-8E6 with a capacity of 2 hp each, instead of two Rolls-Royce Gem 500-2D (manufactured under license from Piaggio) with a capacity of 1004 hp each in the old AW890.
In terms of power-to-weight ratio and overall performance, the new helicopter is superior not only to the AW129, but also to the American AH-64E Apache. Although stealth was not a requirement, the AW249 design includes certain features to improve its LO (low observability) characteristics, such as reducing the RCS (radar cross section) and infrared signature to make it more difficult for an adversary to detect.
The AW249 has a fully open architecture with significant upgrade margins. The core of its capabilities, in addition to its high performance, is the ability to be fully integrated and interoperable on a modern multi-domain battlefield.
The AW249 features an advanced large-area electronic interface display and touchscreen gesture recognition device, as well as helmet-mounted devices and a battle management system specifically developed by Leonardo.
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