The AW609 tiltrotor programme has undertaken its first successful ship trial, supported by the Italian Navy.
From 3-12 April 2024, the AW609 AC4 aircraft, in its final production configuration, conducted demonstration trials at the Maristaer Grottaglie Naval Base.
The trials included take-offs and landings on the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour, demonstrating the tiltrotor’s approach, stable deck landing, and touchdown capabilities.
The trials were preceded by a test campaign using the AW609 development/engineering simulator in Cascina Costa. This digital twin application provided a preliminary assessment of the activities and manoeuvres, benefiting capability development, time reduction, safety, and sustainability say the firm.
The aircraft performed deck landing and take-off procedures in over 15 different conditions, including various wind conditions.
The trials are part of ongoing activities by a joint working group established in 2022, comprising Leonardo, the Italian Navy, the Italian Army, and Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s Customs Police). The group aims to evaluate the potential of tiltrotor technologies as complementary capabilities to existing assets in government services.
“Fast rotorcraft technologies continue to be core to our forward-looking capability development and value proposition in the vertical lift domain, which has been extensively demonstrated by the progress on the AW609 tiltrotor programme. The recent ship trials in Italy, with the strong support of the Italian Navy, represent an important step towards the development of government applications,” said Lorenzo Mariani, Co-General Manager of Leonardo.
“The success of these trials set a major capability demonstration milestone to show the unique advantages of tiltrotors, particularly the AW609. This experience provides an important opportunity to appreciate benefits that can truly revolutionise a range of missions or even open new operational possibilities,” added Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters.
Following the ship trials, Leonardo will begin a detailed evaluation and analysis of the collected data. This will allow for potential follow-on trials to refine approaches and enhance the platform for naval and embarked environments.