Leonardo Helicopters has begun deliveries of the first AW101 anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters to the Polish navy.
Defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak confirmed on 7 August that the first example was en route to Poland, with the country’s armaments agency detailing its arrival hours later.
Warsaw in 2019 ordered four AW101s, plus four options, as replacement for its Soviet-era Mil Mi-14s.
Deliveries of the AW101s, built at Leonardo’s facility in Yeovil, the UK, are due to be complete by the end of 2023.
A follow-on agreement for up to 22 additional AW101s in a multirole configuration is being considered, a Polish defence official indicated earlier this year.
Dominic Perry is deputy editor of Flight International but also contributes extensively to flightglobal.com. Although specialising in the coverage of the helicopter industry, he has written on most topics in aerospace – be they commercial, defence or business aviation. In addition, there has been an increasing focus on the decarbonisation of the industry and zero-emission flight initiatives.View full Profile
