Today, Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner handed over the second Leonardo AW169 Lion multi-purpose helicopter to the air force in Aigen im Ennstal.
“Our forward mission is progressing. We are making our armed forces more modern and operational and it is particularly important to me personally to hand over the second Leonardo to the air force here in Aigen. This helicopter puts an end to years of discussion about this location. With twelve helicopters that will land here, this site is secured for decades to come,” said Defense Minister Klaudia Tanner.
In addition to the arrival of the twelve AW169MA helicopters, extensive investments of more than 40 million euros are also being made in a new infrastructure in Aigen. To increase military security, the entire flight line is to be fenced in and the runway edge markings and lighting will be brought up to the latest state of the art. In addition to the construction of the new hangar, which is responsible for the basic maintenance of the entire AW169 fleet, a new simulator building and a new flight operations building will be built in the flight line area. By 2028, a total of 24 helicopters in the AW169MA variant (tactical helicopters with weapons) and twelve helicopters in the AW169B variant (training helicopters) as well as a comprehensive support and training package will be delivered to Austria. The new helicopters are intended as a successor to the Alouette III light liaison and transport helicopters, which will be retired in 2023, and as a replacement for the OH-58 Kiowa light armed liaison helicopter.
The Leonardo AW169 Lion is a 5-ton class helicopter powered by two engines with a continuous output of 826 kW each. This enables it to reach a top speed of 270 km/h and fly over 800 kilometers. The maximum flight duration is up to 4.3 hours. Among other things, it can be used for transporting people and materials as well as for fire-fighting work. The helicopter can transport two to three times as much water as an Alouette III. The state-of-the-art avionics enable it to perform all operational tasks even at night or in poor weather conditions.
Its possible uses range from airborne protection in the armed version to troop transportation, disaster relief, firefighting, mountain rescue and medical evacuation flights. The helicopter has a payload of up to two tons and can transport up to twelve people. 24 aircraft are stationed in Langenlebarn as training and operational helicopters and twelve operational helicopters in Aigen im Ennstal.
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