U.S. Navy awards contract to Leonardo for 36 TH-73A helicopters

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.

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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.

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Executive Editor

About author:

Colton Jones
Colton Jones
Colton Jones is the deputy editor of Defence Blog. He is a US-based journalist, writer and publisher who specializes in the defense industry in North America and Europe. He has written about emerging technology in military magazines and elsewhere. He is a former Air Force airmen and served at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

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