Leonardo, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $171,047,763 modification (P00006) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N61340-20-C-0007. This modification exercises options for the production and delivery of 36 TH-73A aircraft in support of the Advanced Helicopter Training System program. Work will be performed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Mineral Wells, Texas; and various locations outside the continental U.S. , and is expected to be completed in December 2022. The first production lot of 32 TH-73As was ordered in January 2020 with a contract award for $176.5 million, which included initial spare parts, dedicated equipment and specific pilot and maintenance training services. The U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity.
In January 2020, Leonardo TH-119 Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) was selected to fulfill advanced rotary wing and intermediate tilt-rotor training requirements for the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. The TH-73A is a variant of the commercial Leonardo TH-119 helicopter. The TH-73A AHTS is the replacement for 35-year-old TH-57Bs and TH-57Cs, which will begin sundown in FY22 and concludes in the FY24 timeframe. US Navy’s instructor pilot training for the new TH-73A Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) began in June with the first two instructor pilots from Training Air Wing (TAW) 5 getting classroom and hands-on experience at the Leonardo facility in Philadelphia.
The TH-73A AHTS will reach Initial Operational Capability in 2021 and will provide the training tools needed to produce the next generations of rotary and tilt-rotor pilots for the U.S. and select allied nations, thus ensuring the future readiness of Naval Aviation. The Naval Undergraduate Flight Training Systems Program Office (PMA-273) at Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, oversees the TH-73A AHTS. With high safety standards, the TH-119 maintains redundancies on several key systems for maximum safety, while featuring a dual-display Genesys Aerospace cockpit that gives flexibility to instruct from either seat and the option for VFR or IFR (IMC) operations. This makes the TH-119 the best single engine solution in the market for training in demanding weather and low visibility conditions.