Leonardo wins trainer contract

Leonardo's U.S. subsidiary, AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corp., has been awarded a $176.5 million Navy contract to build the new training helicopter to replace the TH-57 Sea Ranger. The new TH-73A helicopter, based on the TH-119. is part of the new Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) program for Naval Air Station Whiting Field in northwest Florida. The TH-57 that is being replaced is the military training version of the Bell 206 Jet Ranger. The contract calls for 32 TH-73A helicopters, and can be extended through three one-year options up to a total contract value of $648.1 million for the procurement of 130 aircraft, with deliveries scheduled from 2020 through 2024. Leonardo, of Italy, had previously said it would build a support center at Whiting Aviation Park in Milton, just outside the base, if it won the contract. (Source: multiple, including The Aviationist, Pensacola News Journal, 01/14/20) Related contract; feature story on competition to build the trainer, October Gulf Coast Aerospace Newsletter, page 5.