Leonardo Signed the 8 November a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Thai Military Technology Institute for a transfer of technology and maintenance, repair and revision capabilities related to the potential acquisition of AW101 helicopters to be allocated to the Police, Army, Aeronautics and Navy of the country.
The MoU was signed by the interim Director General of Thailand's Defense Technology Institute (DTI), Colonel Tawiwat Veeraklaew, and by Leonardo Helicopters' Asia and Oceania Sales Manager, Brian McEachen in the course of the Salone
Defense & Security 2017 in Bangkok (6-9 November). John Ponsonby, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters in the UK underlined: “We are honored to sign this MoU which has enormous potential for strengthening our business with the Thai Armed Forces and our partnership with the country. It also allows the development of autonomous on-site logistical support capabilities ”.
"I would also like to thank the British Government and, in particular, the Department of International Trade for supporting the finalization of this MoU and the commitment to promoting
of the W101, an unequaled helicopter on the market and an ideal solution to meet the broad range of Thai Army requirements. " Leonardo is an important partner for Thailand in the field of naval, land and aeronautics. The company has provided ground and ship radar surveillance systems, helicopters and radar navigation patrols. In the civilian market, Leonardo has supported the country's needs since the 70 years, in particular with the provision of air traffic control systems. Several national programs have been implemented in the last 10 years. These include, for example, the provision of RAT31DL and KRONOS radar, HALO hostile artillery localization systems and Scorpion lightweight optic systems. In the helicopter field, the Thai Armed Forces operate with different Leonardo aircraft models, in particular the Army AW139 and the Super Lynx 300 of the Navy.
The 101 tons AW16 is the most advanced medium-heavy helicopter available on the market today and has a large cabin, an 1300 km range, high cruising speed, flying capability in all weather conditions, high reliability and safety including a transmission that can continue to operate regularly for 30 minutes without lubricant. His cabin can accommodate over 30 soldiers and can be easily reconfigured to carry out various types of mission. Up to now, customers have been commissioned worldwide over 220 units for a wide range of operational tasks such as search and rescue, personal recovery, utility, naval roles, and transportation of Heads of State and Government.