- Yes
- No
General Info
The story of the AW 149 began after Italian engineers would decide to further develop the Italian AW 139 helicopter by making the fuselage much larger and outfitting the helicopter with more powerful engines. It made its first sighting during the 2006 Farnborough Air Show in mock up form. During those years it would be marketed to many different nations, it was always specified that the helicopter similarly to the previous AW 139 was multirole, meaning it could be configured and peform various tasks depending on user needs. Since then they began to build the first prototype of the aircraft which was fully completed on the 13th of November, 2009. The AW 149 prototype would be fully made inside Italy and conducted its first maiden flight at the Vergiate manufacturing facility inside Italy. According to Leonardo, the AW 149 has access to 2 General Electric CT7-2E1 turboshafts and FADEC Safran e-APU, or alternitively can have access to 2 Safran Aneto-1K turboshafts with FADEC and Safran e-APU. This allows the helicopter to reach speeds of up to 287km an hour or 292km an hour, which obviously depends on which engine configuration is chosen. The overall range of the helicopter is 958km, and has an endurance 4 hours and 55 mins. In terms of survivability, the helicopter is not exactly the most armoured, especially when compared to others in its class. It does have a lot of counter-measures however in the form of a flare/chaff dispenser. For extra situational awareness it also has access to a lwr/rwr. The helicopter has a crew of 2, however can also bring 2 dedicated door-gunners. In terms of armaments, it being a helicopter also marketed for military use, there has been many armaments which have been said could be used on the helicopter. For anti tank purposes, the hellfire, brimstone and cirit anti tank guided missiles have been shown to be able to be mounted unto the helicopter. These give the AW 149 the capability to easily make short work of armoured vehicles from a very extended range, mainly due to the brimstones. Other armament also consists of guided and unguided rockets, various different types of gunpods, either 12.7mm, 7.62mm or 20mm. Various different armaments can also be attached for door-gunners unto the side of the helicopter, armament consists of 12.7mm machineguns or 7.62mm machineguns. The Italian airforce showed great interest in the line of helicopters from Leonardo and put the AW 139M and the AW 149 under extensive tests for several years, which is also likely why in some of the AW 149 photos you can see aeronautica militare (Italian air force) on the helicopter. The Italian airforce ultimately went with the AW 139M, but only as it was the overall lighter option out of the 2, after the main testing campaign was over the Italian airforce markings were removed, however the Italian roundel has been for the most part always present. The Italian airforce still has at least 2 different AW 149’s at their disposal, which are being used by the reparto sperimentale di volo. Leonardo has also marketed the helicopter to many other countries, and has managed to even export it a few times, some of the good qualities of this helicopter such as the fact its a really cost efficent option compared to other options allow it to really set itself apart from the competition. The AW 149 has been exported to several countries, them being Poland, Egypt and Thailand. Overall the AW 149 is a relaibile helicopter from Italy and has really proven how it can be configured into multiple different roles and outfitted with different sets of armaments if needed.
Armament+Equipment
Brimstone air to ground missiles
Hellfire air to ground missiles
Spike air to ground missiles
AGM179 JAGM air to ground missiles
Cirit air to ground rockets
FZ275 air to ground rockets (guided+unguidedd)
Guided/unguided rockets (Hydra/Aerea)
Gun pods (12.7, 7.62, 20mm)
Air to air missiles (Stinger)
Flare/Chaff counter-measures
LWR/RWR
Thermal/Night vision
Specifications
Why it should be in game
I think this helicopter should be added to warthunder because it could be a great top tier heli for Italy if given the right armament. The brimstones would bring a new powerful weapon system into the Italian tech tree and would attract new and old players to want to have a chance to use them in game. Overall if placed at the right BR it wouldn’t be that OP, ultimately armament wise its not going to be anything revolutionary and if cerain aspects of the armament are too much, gaijin can always adjust according to the meta.
Sources
Spoiler
SI VIS PACEM, PARA BELLUM: L'elicottero medio Leonardo AW 149
https://www.aviation-report.com/perche-elicottero-italiano-leonardo-aw149-candidato-ideale-per-requisito-inglese-new-medium-helicopter/
AW149 - Military Helicopters
https://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/01-07-2022-ldo-pzl-Świdnik-awarded-pln-8.25-billion-gross-eur-1.76-billion-contract-for-the-supply-of-32-aw149-multirole-helicopters-for-the-polish-armed-forces
https://www.aviacionline.com/2022/07/leonardo-sells-32-aw149-helicopters-to-polish-armed-forces/
Poland signs $1.8bn contract for 32 AW149 multirole helicopters | News | Flight Global
https://helihub.com/2022/07/15/aw149-completes-guided-and-unguided-rocket-firing-trials/
A Lynx in Puma's clothing
https://www.helis.com/database/modelorg/1666/
Aeroclub Parma - AW 149 - Reparto Sperimentale Volo
AgustaWestland AW149 - Wikipedia
Italy reveals Leonardo helo sales to Egypt
https://uk.leonardo.com/en/helicopters/military/aw149-medium-helicopter
Photos
