The Ministry of Defense of North Macedonia decided to renew its helicopter fleet with eight new aircraft purchased from Leonardo Helicopters. They will replace the current fleet of Russian helicopters operated by the Army.
During an interview with the local television media MRT 1, the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, Slavjanka Petrovska, announced that Leonardo Helicopters’ offer was chosen as the most favorable, based on the performance of the aircraft, their price, the equipment offered and the logistic support system and maintenance program offered by the Italian company. Leonardo beat competition from Lockheed Martin with the S-70 Black Hawk, Airbus with the H145M and H225M and Bell with the 412M (the same companies competing in the NMH program to replace the British Army’s Puma).
The minister detailed that two models of helicopters, four AW149 and four AW169, will be acquired to replace the Russian Mi-8/17s, whose availability has been declining in recent years. Like two Mi-24Vs before, these Mi-8/17s could also be donated to Ukraine in the future.
See also: Polish Army takes delivery of its first two Leonardo AW149 helicopters
According to the site Balkansec, the amount of the operation would be around 230 million euros. The next step is the negotiations that the procurement commission will conduct with Leonardo’s representatives on the details of the contract. The time frame for the arrival of the first units is expected to be 24 to 36 months from the date of signing the contract.
