Leonardo Helicopters remains confident it will deliver the first AW249 Fenice attack helicopter to the Italian army next year as it ramps up flight-test activities with the new platform.

Four test aircraft are now in operation – one prototype and three pre-serial examples – and have accumulated over 1,000 flight hours since the maiden sortie in August 2022, says Alessandro Alfonso, head of combat programmes at the Italian manufacturer.

Key to maintaining the schedule is the interchangeability between the units for different test activities.

“They share configurations to share and confirm the test plan – if there is a problem with one we have another that can perform the flight-test activities.

“The important thing is that the four prototypes avoid missing any time,” he told journalists during a briefing at the company’s Cascina Costa site in northern Italy.

Recent milestones include the first stage of the firing campaign, using unguided weapons. Further tests will be required to complete the qualification of guided munitions, including rockets and the Rafael Spike/ER air-to-ground missiles.

The prototype fleet has also made several forays outside of Italy, including test flights in Spain in 2023, although Alfonso declines to specify locations.

Hot and high testing is also scheduled for later this year at another undisclosed location, thought to be in the United States.

Feedback from pilots so far has been positive, Alfonso says, with the 9t helicopter having “demonstrated the required manoeuvrability and agility”.

But flight tests have led to one change: the slope of the canopy has now been reshaped “to maximise visibility in all conditions”, he says. Leonardo used the introduction of the new part to also add exits on both sides of the canopy.

To date, Leonardo has booked 19 firm orders for the AW249 from the Italian army, although Rome last October confirmed its intention to take another 29 units, brining the total acquisition to 48 examples. It will use the Fenice to replace its current AW129 Mangusta attack helicopters.

And with the first delivery scheduled for next year, the initial production aircraft is already in final assembly.

Although army crews have yet to fly the Fenice, test pilots from Italy’s ARMAEREO military qualification body have taken the controls, with approval targeted for 2027.

But that is not to say the Italian army is not involved in the development process: it is participating in multiple working groups shaping the programme’s progress, notes Alfonso.

Development of the AW249 has been simplified through sharing the drivetrain and dynamic components from the AW149 transport.

That includes similar GE Aerospace CT7 engines, although the -8E6 variant powering the Fenice will be built by its Italian subsidiary GE Avio.

Leonardo Helicopters maintains hopes of securing export orders for the AW249 and plans to display the helicopter at the ILA Berlin air show in early June.