Argentina signs letter of intent for the purchase of eight AW109 helicopters

The Argentine Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana, signed a letter of intent (LOI) with Italian aerospace giant Leonardo, for the acquisition of eight AW109 light helicopters for the Navy.

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The Argentine Ministry of Defense affirms that the acquisition of eight AW109 light embarked helicopters from Leonardo for the Argentine Navy and the Joint Maritime Command, will allow the expansion of the control and surveillance capabilities of the jurisdictional maritime spaces, since this system is suitable to be incorporated to the OPV oceanic patrol vessels.

«In Argentina, our ocean patrol vessels need light helicopters that can fit into the hangars of the OPV ships. We are convinced that Leonardo is the right company to acquire these helicopters,» said Minister Taiana.

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The AW109 multipurpose helicopter is a light twin-engine helicopter that can be configured to fulfill various functions, both for surveillance and Emergency Medical Services and Search and Rescue (SAR), tasks for which it has a side hoist that facilitates aerial evacuations. It can accommodate a pilot and co-pilot and six personnel and can operate for three hours, over a range of about 574 kilometers.

During his tour in Italy, Minister Taiana also held a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto, at the Army Palace, to strengthen cooperation in production and defense, training and Antarctic support.

If the purchase is materialized, it would be a much needed addition to the Argentine Navy’s (ARA) SAR and EEZ control capabilities, since it will be able to equip each of its four Gowind class OPVs with a helicopter, and the other four aircraft could perform their functions from land bases, or from other Navy ships. In the meantime, the purchase of anti-submarine warfare helicopters, a capability that the ARA cannot credibly perform at present, remains pending.