Leonardo’s participation at the air show is centered on the future of flight and advanced electronics. Leonardo is a leader in military pilot training, offering a turnkey training solution including platforms, systems and services that guarantees the highest standards of quality at every stage of training to customers worldwide. In the UAE, Leonardo has provided more than 100 helicopters, advanced naval technologies, secure communications, space technologies and training aircraft. Leonardo, the Italian-headquartered global aerospace and defence company, is presenting its revolutionary AW609 tiltrotor for the first time in the region at the 2021 Dubai Airshow (14-18 November). With a stand (booth 530 – UK Pavilion) and an outdoor static area (Pavilion S19) at the event, Leonardo is ready to welcome visitors to see some of its most advanced technologies, including the only tiltrotor in the market set to receive civil certification. Other high-tech equipment on show will include advanced electronics, helicopters and defence technologies.
“In 2019, the Dubai Airshow was the last major Aerospace and Defence event before the pandemic – says Pasquale Di Bartolomeo, Leonardo Chief Commercial Officer –: and this year’s edition, taking place as we start to emerge from the global emergency caused by Covid-19, is going to be an important showcase for Leonardo. We are sure that the event will be a success even in a time of ongoing caution, just like the Emirati government’s hugely impressive and safe Expo 2020 Dubai which Leonardo is currently proudly contributing to. Our partners in the UAE and in the whole Middle East continue to be of great importance to Leonardo and we believe that the Dubai Airshow will give us the chance to further strengthen these ties and pursue a range of business opportunities.”
That close relationship between Leonardo and its regional partners is behind the company’s choice to present the AW609 tiltrotor at Dubai Airshow 2021, marking its first appearance at an aerospace and defence exhibition outside Europe and the U.S. The AW609 is an impressive feat of engineering: with its ability to change the position of its two rotors in less than 60 seconds, it can take-off vertically like a helicopter while performing in-flight like an aeroplane. Capable of carrying out a variety of missions, from passenger transport and medical care to civil protection and search and rescue, the AW609 can fly at over 500 km/h. It has a range of almost 1,400 km, which increases to over 2,000 km with auxiliary tanks. The AW609, on display at the Dubai Airshow, was flown to Dubai for the opening ceremony of the innovative helicopter terminal, built by Leonardo in partnership with Falcon Aviation Services at the Expo 2020 Dubai site. Here the company also launched ‘Agusta’, reinvigorating the iconic helicopter brand as the marker for Leonardo’s VIP transportation products and services.
The AgustaWestland (now Leonardo) AW609, formerly the Bell/Agusta BA609, is a twin-engined tiltrotor vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft with a configuration similar to that of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. It is capable of landing vertically like a helicopter while having a range and speed in excess of conventional rotorcraft. AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica. It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccanica and GKN merged their respective helicopter subsidiaries (Agusta and Westland Helicopters) to form AgustaWestland, with each holding a 50% share. Finmeccanica acquired GKN’s stake in AgustaWestland in 2004. In 2016, AgustaWestland was merged into Leonardo S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica), where it became the company’s helicopters division under the Leonardo Helicopters brand.