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2024-08-07

AW249 The Battlefield’s Digital Dominator

The AW249, a next-generation helicopter designed to dominate the battlefield for the next three decades, boasts an impressive array of technical features geared towards modern combat scenarios.

The Italian-developed marvel prioritises adaptability with a fully open architecture, allowing for continuous upgrades and integration of future technologies. Beyond its performance metrics (speed, range, payload capacity, and manoeuvrability), it stands out for its ability to seamlessly connect and operate within a complex, multi-domain environment encompassing air, land, sea, space, and cyber operations.

At its core lies an advanced human-machine interface featuring expansive displays, touchscreens, and gesture recognition alongside a sophisticated Leonardo-developed Battle Management System (BMS). This technical prowess positions the AW249 as a truly next-generation combat helicopter solution.

It offers full digital military networking for multi-domain operations with the capacity for crewed-uncrewed teaming with UAVs. The BMS provides an integrated and fused tactical picture from all mission and information management systems, delivering the best situational awareness available.

Capable of operating in all environments, day or night, it conducts multiple missions, giving crews the operational advantage to identify and engage enemy targets with a range of weapons before becoming threatened.

Although AW249 is characterised by speed and durability, allowing it to survive in the most difficult conditions during assault and air support tasks, it also provides competitive maintenance and operating costs due to the modern design.

The helicopter meets the strictest safety standards of the European Defence Agency, NATO, and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency.

Pilot Helmet

The AW249 features large displays, touch screens, and gesture recognition in the tandem cockpit. The modern BMS pilot helmet provides critical flight, navigation, and mission information via multiple sensors and advanced connectivity.

Capable of aerial escort, close air support, combat attack, and air interdiction, it also acts as an information acquisition element for C4 systems, scanning territory and identifying units for its own use or secure transmission to Command & Control. It leverages advanced crewed-uncrewed teaming and operates in extreme conditions with shipboard capabilities.

The helicopter’s flexible weapon system includes guided and unguided rockets, air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, and a 20mm Gatling gun.

Survivability features include an Integrated Defensive Aids Suite (IDAS), armoured seats, ballistic-tolerant fuel tanks, crashworthiness, low detectability, and superior situational alertness through navigation and sensor fusion.

Developed with digital simulation capabilities, the helicopter offers state-of-the-art technical support, high-fidelity mission simulation, virtual reality, and prescriptive maintenance through data analysis.

It uses advanced composite materials and high-performance airfoil designs for its main rotor blades. These blades are designed to maximise lift while minimising drag and noise.

Core Avionics & Systems

The ergonomic cockpit features next-generation avionics for intuitive control of all aircraft systems. Key elements include two large area displays (21.5 inches) and four enhanced display control units (8.4 inches), complemented by touch screens with gesture recognition for fast and accurate interface.

The cockpit also includes hands-on controls and sticks, ensuring pilots can manage all systems efficiently. This comprehensive integration enhances operational capabilities, making the AW249 highly effective in combat.

Advanced Weapon Systems

It boasts significant lethality with its advanced weapon systems. It is equipped with both guided and unguided 70 mm rockets, air-to-air infrared guided missiles, and air-to-ground radiofrequency or fibre optic guided missiles.

It also features a 20 mm three-barrel cannon integrated with a helmet display system for precise targeting. Additionally, the helicopter includes automatic launcher-assisted pitch control and an Attack AFCS (Automatic Flight Control System) mode, which enhance targeting accuracy and overall combat effectiveness.

The AW249’s Concept of Operations (CONOPS) ensures high effectiveness and flexibility. It addresses various scenarios, from direct combat engagements to support and reconnaissance missions.

Ballistic Damage Tolerant Design

The rotor system and drive train of the AW249 are designed with resilience against ballistic impacts. This includes reinforced materials and structural integrity measures to withstand damage from small arms fire and shrapnel.

The crew seats are armoured to provide protection against ballistic threats, such as small arms fire and shell fragments. This armour ensures the safety of the crew members during combat operations, minimising the risk of injury from ballistic impacts.

The cockpit features ballistic-damage tolerant displays, which are resistant to damage from ballistic impacts. These displays maintain visibility and functionality even in the event of attacks or accidents, ensuring that critical information remains accessible to the crew for mission execution.

The ballistic damage-tolerant design enhances its survivability and operational reliability in combat environments. By protecting key components like rotors, drive train, crew seats, and cockpit displays, the helicopter can effectively withstand ballistic threats while maintaining mission capability and crew safety.

Self-Sealing Fuel Tanks

The helicopter’s fuel tanks are equipped with self-sealing bladders. These bladders are designed to automatically minimise fuel leakage caused by ballistic impacts, and reducing the risk of fire or fuel loss during combat situations.

The fuel system includes isolated tanks. This design feature helps prevent fuel leakage and reduces the likelihood of catastrophic damage spreading across multiple compartments in the event of an impact or penetration.

An additional layer of protection is provided by the Smart Transfer Subsystem. This subsystem allows for efficient management and transfer of fuel between different tanks, ensuring optimal balance and utilisation without compromising safety or operational capability.

MIL-STD Crashworthiness

The AW249 meets Military Standard (MIL-STD) crashworthiness standards with several key design features aimed at protecting crew members and critical components in the event of a crash.

It is equipped with high descent rate landing gear, designed to absorb impact energy during landings and minimise shock to the airframe and occupants. This feature helps protect against structural damage and enhances safety during emergency landings or hard landings.

The chopper incorporates an energy-absorbing structure throughout its airframe. This feature helps dissipate kinetic energy during impact, reducing the severity of forces transmitted to the crew and critical components in the event of a crash or collision.

Crew safety is prioritised with crashworthy seats that are designed to mitigate impact forces and provide protection against spinal and head injuries. These seats are engineered to withstand crash loads and maintain structural integrity, safeguarding the occupants during emergency situations.

The helicopter’s fuel tanks are designed to be crashworthy, featuring robust construction and protective measures to prevent rupture or fuel leakage in the event of an impact. This reduces the risk of fire and enhances overall safety for the crew and nearby personnel.

The AW249’s adherence to MIL-STD crashworthiness standards ensures that it can withstand crash impacts and emergency landings with minimal damage to critical components and crew members.

By integrating high descent rate landing gear, energy-absorbing structures, crashworthy crew seats, and fuel tank protections, the helicopter enhances its survivability and operational safety.

Safe Return Criteria

The helicopter incorporates safe return design criteria for critical systems.

Critical systems within the AW249 are designed with redundancy, meaning that essential components and subsystems have backups or duplicates. This redundancy ensures that if one system fails, there are alternative mechanisms in place to maintain functionality and safety.

The design includes separation of critical systems to prevent cascading failures. By isolating key components or subsystems, the helicopter can minimise the impact of malfunctions or damage on other systems, enhancing overall operational reliability.

Another design feature of AW249 is segregation. Segregation involves physically separating critical systems or components to prevent interference or cross-contamination. This ensures that failures or malfunctions in one area do not affect the operation or integrity of other systems crucial for safe flight and mission completion.

Critical systems in the AW249 are designed with robustness and damage tolerance in mind. This means they can withstand certain levels of damage or degradation without compromising safety or mission capability. Damage-tolerant designs help ensure that the helicopter can continue operating safely and effectively even in adverse conditions or after sustaining damage.

The safe return design criteria are integral to its operational reliability and safety, ensuring that critical systems can continue functioning effectively during missions, reducing the likelihood of catastrophic failures.

Counter-Jamming Technology

To maintain communication and navigation capabilities in electronic warfare (EW) environments, the AW249 is equipped with anti-jamming systems. These systems mitigate the effects of electronic interference and jamming attempts, ensuring reliable operation of onboard communication and navigation systems.

Low Observable (LO) Features: The helicopter employs low observable techniques to reduce its radar cross-section and visual signature. This includes radar-absorbent materials and special paint finishes that minimise reflection of radar waves, making the AW249 less detectable to enemy radar systems and enhancing its survivability in contested airspace.

Automatic Electronic Warfare (EW) Detection: The AW249 features automatic EW detection capabilities, enabling it to identify and respond to threats posed by enemy radar and missile guidance systems. This includes the deployment of chaff and flare countermeasures to decoy and evade incoming threats, thereby enhancing its survivability against radar-guided missiles and other electronic threats.

Frequency Agile Radios: To maintain secure and reliable communication in dynamic and contested electromagnetic environments, it is equipped with frequency agile radios. These radios can rapidly switch frequencies and adapt to changing conditions, ensuring uninterrupted communication with command centres and other friendly forces.

The self-protection capabilities, including anti-jamming systems, low observable features, automatic EW detection with chaff and flare deployment, and frequency agile radios, enhance its survivability and operational effectiveness in modern combat scenarios.

These features mitigate electronic threats, reduce detection by enemy radar systems, and ensure robust communication and defensive capabilities during missions.

Interoperability Enhancement Measures

Interoperability across multiple domains is a pivotal capability for modern battlefield effectiveness. The AW249 is designed to seamlessly integrate with all air and ground assets, enabling net-centric operations within a digital network.

This integration allows cooperative assets to share crucial tactical information, including voice, data, and video.

Net-centric capabilities are fundamental for coordinated actions in demanding environments, encompassing command centres, UAVs, aircraft, satellites, ground troops, and vehicles.

The AW249 incorporates advanced net-centric features such as secure Communications Security (COMSEC) and Transmission Security (TRANSEC) communications. These capabilities are facilitated through both Line-of-Sight (LOS) and Beyond-Line-of-Sight (BLOS) connectivity using state-of-the-art Software Defined Radios (SDR).

Moreover, the helicopter leverages advanced technologies including the New Generation Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system, Tactical Data Link 16 (TDL-16), Wide Band Data Link LOS, and LTE gateway technology. These enhancements ensure robust interoperability.

Combat Helicopter Evolution

With a maximum take-off weight of 8.3 tonnes, the AW249 is being developed to replace the Italian Army’s AW129 fleet which is nearing the end of its life-cycle.

An AW249 prototype carried out its maiden flight in summer 2022. Four prototypes have been built since then, with two flying aircraft involved in performance, system integration and payload testing and two more now completed and to start testing soon.

The production contract is expected soon, with deliveries to the Italian Army to begin in 2027.

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