The U.S. Navy awarded the deal to AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation, a unit of Italy’s Leonardo, to build TH-73A helicopters.
The deal, which was a modification to a previous contract, was worth almost $171 million and covered exercise options for the production and delivery of 36 TH-73A aircraft in support of the Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) program.
Per the contract modification, work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (87%); Mineral Wells, Texas (5%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (8%), and is expected to be completed in December 2022.
The TH-73 AHTS is a derivative of the commercial Leonardo TH-119 single-engine instrument flight rules helicopter. AHTS will serve as the training platform for Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard rotary-wing training, and it will provide the rotary-wing portion of training for all Navy and Marine Corps tilt-rotor aviators.
The TH-73A AHTS will reach Initial Operational Capability in 2021 and will provide the training tools needed to produce the next generations of rotary and tilt-rotor pilots for the U.S. and select allied nations, thus ensuring the future readiness of Naval Aviation.
AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation (Leonardo) plans to produce 130 helicopters to fulfill advanced rotary-wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard through 2050.