AW149
- a contract for the acquisition of 24 aircraft was signed in 2019.
A case of a NATO member state procuring this aircraft may re-
sult in a wave of further orders - the decision made in Warsaw
would just be the start since available market opportunities for
500 examples have been identified. One of the possible opportu-
nities includes the British New Medium Helicopter program. The
UK MoD plans to procure up to 44 multi-role cargo helicopters
expected to replace the legacy Westland Puma HC.2s, and the
smaller aircraft like the Bell 412 Griffin (3 examples stationed at
RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus), Bell 212 (five examples stationed in Bru-
nei), and Airbus AS365 Dauphin II (six aircraft operated by the
UK SOF). The opportunity to establish a final assembly line in
the UK would be one of the arguments when fighting for the UK
contract. This begs a question of whether maintaining 3 loca-
tions as such (the UK, Poland, and Italy) would be justifiable.
Nonetheless, as some analysts indicate, should Leonardo secu-
re a win in the UK, consideration may be given not to liquidate
the Italian plant for the civilian variant - the AW189. The first
AVIATION
