Egypt is believed to have ordered AW149 helicopters to use aboard its naval vessels, choosing the Leonardo Helicopters product over the competing French-made NH90. Egypt informed France last week that it had chosen the AW149, with the order believed to cover around 20 helicopters.
Egypt was looking at acquiring 20-30 NH90 for use aboard its naval vessels but it will also fly the AW149 on land-based troop transport and search and rescue missions. Capability-wise, in the troop transport role the AW149 can carry 12 fully equipped soldiers or 19 passengers on crashworthy seats. Weapons options are available, including gun pods, rocket pods, and guided missiles.
Leonardo says the AW149 is designed for a multitude of missions such as troop transport, re-supply/external load lift, medical and casualty evacuation, search and rescue, Special Forces operations, close air support/armed escort, command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
In the past few years, Egypt has been amercing military equipment, revamping its defense forces with cutting-edge technology and training and as such the number of copters could go up in line with revitalizing the country’s navy.
