[Would you like to see this in-game?]
- Yes
- No
0
voters
Were should it go?
- Italy
- UK
- Both
- I voted no
0
voters
Description: The AW101 Merlin was an Italian-British ASW helicopter developed in the 1980s by the company Agusta Westland. In 1977, the Royal Navy submitted a new requirement to replace the Westland Sea King, which was quite old for the time being. At the same time, the Italian Navy was looking for a replacement for its Agusta ASH3D Sea King. And so the two nations started to develop a new helicopter that could satisfy the requirements of both nations. The two companies involved in the project, Agusta and Westland, finalized an agreement regarding the development and production of the AW101 in 1984. In 1985, the first mockup was shown by Agusta at the famous air show of Le Bourget. The mockup was shown to be possible in both civilian and military contexts. Two years later, on October 9, 1987, the first prototype took off. In that year, a total of nine prototypes were built to develop all the possible civil and military configurations. In 1995, the UK placed an initial order for 22 units and Italy for 16 units. Those two orders were later raised to 44 units for the UK and 22 for Italy. The helicopter was also exported to other countries, such as Japan, Porto, Algeria, and others. In April 2019, the Polish Navy selected the AW-101 as its new ASW helicopter to replace the old Mi14. Initially, 8 units were ordered, but due to some financial issues, the number was later reduced to 4. The units parts were assembled in the various Leoanrdo facilities in Italy, Britain, and Poland. The four helicopters were later assembled at the Leonardo facility at Yeovil, in the UK. The first unit was delivered on August 7, 2023, with two more units delivered by the end of 2023. The last unit is going to be delivered between 2024 and 2025.
Whyt it should be in game: It could give to the Italian and British tt a possible premium ase heli if in future those helis will enter in wt.
Specifications
Armaments
Riepilogo
Torpedos
4x MU90
Door Guns
2x 12.7 mm machineguns
Sources
Riepilogo
Polish Navy Introduces The New AW101 Merlin Helicopter - The Aviationist
The Polish Navy Has Received Its First AW101 Helicopter - The Aviationist
https://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/20-07-2021-leonardos-aw101-for-the-polish-navy-flies-for-the-first-time
Pictures
