As part of his visit to Italy, the Minister of Defense, Jorge Taiana, toured the factory specialized in the aerospace field “Leonardo”, and signed a letter of intent for the acquisition of eight AW 109 helicopters, which will strengthen the capabilities of the Argentine Navy in its patrolling tasks of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
There, the head of the Defense Ministry said: “In Argentina, our oceanic patrol boats need to have light helicopters, which can enter the hangars of OPV ships. We are convinced that Leonardo is the right company to acquire these helicopters.”
The acquisition of eight AW 109 light embarked helicopters of the firm “Leonardo” for the Argentine Navy and the Joint Maritime Command, will expand the control and surveillance capabilities of maritime spaces of national jurisdiction, since this system is suitable to be incorporated into the OPV oceanic patrol vessels.
The AW109 multipurpose helicopter is a medium twin-engine helicopter that can be configured to fulfill various functions, both surveillance and Emergency Medical Services and Search and Rescue (SAR), tasks for which it has a side bug that facilitates aeroevacuations. It accommodates one pilot and one co-pilot and six crew members and can operate for three hours, at a range of about 574 kilometers.
Cooperation between Argentina and Italy in the field of Defense dates back to 1992 when the Defense Cooperation Agreement was signed in Rome, which entered into force in 1997, which establishes the guiding principles of mutual cooperation in the productive sector and acquisition of capabilities related to defense equipment.
During his tour of Italy, Minister Taiana also held a bilateral meeting with his Italian counterpart, Guido Crosetto, at the Army Palace, to strengthen cooperation in production and defense, training and Antarctic support.
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