AW609: Leonardo’s tiltrotor successfully performs first tests aboard an Italian aircraft carrier

Key points:

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• The aircraft demonstrated its ability to take off and land vertically, as well as perform stable maneuvers on the deck of the Italian aircraft carrier.
• The tests were conducted with the support of the Italian Navy and evaluated the AW609’s potential for government and public service missions.
• The AW609 offers fast point-to-point transportation, access to remote areas and a pressurized cabin for up to nine passengers.
• Leonardo continues to evaluate data for future testing and enhancements of the AW609 in naval environments.

The AW609 tiltrotor program reached an important milestone after its first successful test on the deck of a ship, which was recently carried out with the support of the Italian Navy.

The #AW609 tiltrotor programme set another major industry capability milestone after its first successful ship trial, which was recently conducted with the support of the @ItalianNavy. The #tiltrotor, with test pilots and flight test engineers from #Leonardo (supported by Italian… pic.twitter.com/M7gB023Vit

— Leonardo Helicopters (@LDO_Helicopters) June 26, 2024

From April 3-12, the AW609 AC4 aircraft, fully representative of the final production configuration, conducted demonstration tests relocating from Leonardo’s Cascina Costa (Samarate) facility to the Maristaer Grottaglie Naval Base. The tiltrotor, with Leonardo test pilots and flight test engineers (supported by Italian Navy personnel for embarked operations), took off from the base bound for the Italian aircraft carrier (ITS CAVOUR – Flagship of the Navy Fleet), 20 nautical miles offshore, proving to be a stable and safe platform during approach and deck stacking maneuvers.

Tests demonstrated that Leonardo’s AW609, which is the world’s first tilt-rotor aircraft nearing civil certification, meets demanding operational and safety standards over the sea. It is therefore ideally positioned to meet a range of government and public service needs.

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The test campaign began in Leonardo’s AW609 flight simulator at Cascina Costa. The use of a synthetic environment for piloting maneuvers allowed testing under controlled and repetitive conditions, without risk to the aircraft or crew. On-deck landings and takeoffs were simulated in more than 15 different conditions (including wind conditions), including direct and lateral approaches, vertical landings and takeoffs, and lateral departures.

Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters, added: “The success of these trials set a major capability demonstration milestone to show the unique advantages of tiltrotors, and particularly that of the AW609, through a combination of high performance and versatility, which remains unmatched in the vertical flight sector. This experience provides an important opportunity to appreciate benefits that can truly revolutionise a range of missions or even open new operational possibilities. We thank all of our partners in this demonstration and for the studies undertaken, we look forward to moving to the next stages of evaluation.”

Following this first test campaign on a ship, Leonardo will initiate a detailed evaluation and analysis of the data collected. These would allow possible follow-up tests to better refine the approaches, as well as drive further improvements to the platform to operate in the naval/shipboarding environment.