Flight International – 6 August 2019

This week

8 | Flight International | 6-12 August 2019 flightglobal.com

programme

Wildcat adds bite with weapon wings

Leonardo has begun flight testing new weapon wings for the AW

Wildcat helicopter, which will carry anti-ship missiles for the UK Royal

Navy. Performed using a RN Wildcat HMA2 (ZZ513), the trials began

on 2 July from the manufacturer’s facility in Yeovil, in the southwest

of England. Flights have so far been in a clean configuration, at low

and high speeds, and at high altitudes; this phase of testing is “near-

ly complete”, says the manufacturer. Each wing – which also provide

lift in forward flight – will be able to carry 10 Thales Defence Martlet

or two MBDA Sea Venom missiles.

Rick Ingham

A

robust performance in mili-

tary rotorcraft and defence

electronics offset problems in

aerostructures and weak demand

for offshore helicopters to help

Leonardo to a 7% increase in

first-half revenues to €6 billion

($6.7 billion).

The Italian group also reported

a strong first-half order intake, up

34% compared with the same pe-

riod last year. Sales successes in-

cluded a €300 million follow-on

deal to supply another 13 M-

single-engined trainers to the Ital-

ian air force, a four-unit AW

agreement with Poland worth

€380 million and a Spanish order

for 23 NH Industries NH90s –

Leonardo is a shareholder in the

FInancIal murdo morrison LoNDoN

defence keeps Leonardo on the attack

Performance in military helicopters and electronics business offset weakness in civil rotorcraft and aerostructures unit

Italian air force placed follow-on order for 13 M-345 basic jet trainers

Leonardo

transport helicopter programme,

along with Airbus and GKN.

Acknowledging a “good first

half”, chief executive Alessandro

Profumo noted that the company

had received a “significant num-

ber of relatively small orders” –

none worth more than €400 mil-

lion – rather than a handful of

major commitments. “Our recent

strong intake is evidence of the

strength of our products,” he said.

The backlog also does not in-

clude unfunded commitments,

says Profumo, such as the US Air

Force’s acquisition of MH-

helicopters: the service has so far

ordered an initial four examples,

with an eventual need for 84

units to replace its legacy Bell

UH-1Ns.

In recent years, Leonardo has

rebranded and reshaped its once-

complex structure into three divi-

sions – helicopters, defence elec-

tronics and security, and

aeronautics, which includes its

aerostructures activities, the for-

mer Alenia Aermacchi military

trainer business, and its shares in

the ATR joint venture and Eu-

rofighter consortium.

Although deliveries of helicop-

ters fell from 77 units in the first

half of 2018 to 61 in the same pe-

riod this year, a much higher pro-

portion of military and govern-

ment sales pushed revenues up

3.6% to just under €1.9 billion.

Defence electronics and secu-

rity – which includes its US-

based DRS unit – saw orders

soar by more than half and reve-

nues grow by 7.3%, to almost

€1.9 billion.

In aeronautics, despite a rise in

output, particularly relating to

Eurofighter activities for Kuwait

• the first four of an eventual 28
  aircraft will be delivered late next
  year, says Profumo – “softness”
  in demand for ATR turboprops
  meant revenues were down 2.6%
  to just under €1.4 billion. Leon-
  ardo builds the airframes for the
  joint venture with Airbus.
  However, Profumo says effi-
  ciency improvements in the aero-
  structures business – which also
  constructs fuselage parts for the
  Boeing 787 and Airbus A220 –
  are reducing losses there.
  “We know what we have to do
  to fix aerostructures,” says Profu-
  mo. “There are no problems that
  we don’t know how to fix. The
  house is in order.”
  Leonardo’s first-half earnings be-
  fore interest, tax and amortisation
  were up 4%, to €487 million. ■

contract dominic perry LoNDoN

Armed m-346 on target with launch order

Leonardo has secured a launch

order for six examples of the

M-346FA – the fighter-attack vari-

ant of its advanced jet trainer – from

a major “international customer”.

Speaking on a half-year results

call, Leonardo chief executive

Alessandro Profumo said the deal

was signed during the last month.

“We have just signed the first

order for six M-346 fighter-attack

planes, the new version of our

M-346 platform, with an interna-

tional customer,” he says.

“This is important because we

have a large customer for this

new order of the 346.”

Leonardo recently indicated

that certification for the FA variant

from Italy’s Armaereo military ap-

provals body was expected in late

2020, ahead of probable service

entry the following year.

Profumo says the company

also expects to announce an in-

ternational customer for the

smaller, single-engined M-

trainer by year-end.

So far, the sole customer for

the jet is the Italian air force,

which has committed to take 18

examples. ■

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