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AW609 tiltrotor completes first ship trial campaign

The AW609 tiltrotor program reached another capability milestone after its first successful ship trial, which was recently conducted with the support of the Italian Navy. From April 3 to12, the AW609 AC4 aircraft, fully representative of the final production configuration, performed demonstration trials relocating from Leonardo’s facility based in Cascina Costa, Samarate, to the Maristaer Grottaglie Naval Base.

The tiltrotor, with test pilots and flight test engineers from Leonardo (supported by Italian Navy personnel for the embarked operations), took off from the base inbound from the Italian aircraft carrier (ITS CAVOUR – Navy Fleet Flagship), 20 nm offshore, highlighting its approach, stable deck landing, and touchdown capabilities.

Integral to the demonstration phase, explains Leonardo, was an initial test campaign developed and executed in a full synthetic environment leveraging the AW609 development/engineering simulator, which is located in Cascina Costa. Digital twin applications delivered a preliminary assessment of the activities and manoeuvres, which were later performed in operation. Deck landing and take-off procedures were performed in more than 15 different conditions, including wind conditions, featuring straight-in and lateral approach, vertical landing, vertical take-off, and lateral exit.

Leonardo explains these demonstration trials are the latest step taken under the activities carried out by a joint working group established in 2022 including Leonardo, the Italian Navy, the Italian Army, and Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s Customs Police). The working group is intended to evaluate the potential of tiltrotor technologies as complementary capabilities to the assets already in use among government services, providing a fast long range capability with vertical take-off and landing and fast cruise, above the weather based on the AW609’s pressurized cabin and high altitude performance. The assessment performed by the working group would help to define the benefits for logistic transport (vertical take-off/landing, long range, fast point-to-point connection with above-the-weather cruise) and, later in the future, maritime surveillance (vertical take-off/landing, fast transfer to patrolling area and larger area coverage).