April 6 (UPI) -- Leonardo announced on Thursday it will sell an AW169 helicopter to the government of Argentina to support the company's border defenses.
The deal was disclosed during LAAD 2017, an international defense exhibition currently hosted in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Once delivered, the helicopter will be the first commercial AW169 to enter service in Argentina.
Government officials expect the delivery in the second half of 2017.
"The selection of the new generation AW169 by such an important customer in Argentina provides further evidence of the competitiveness of the company's high quality, advanced technology solutions that are designed to meet the current and future requirements of prime operators in Latin America, particularly in the demanding security sector," Leonardo CEO Mauro Moretti said in a press release.
The AW169 is a multirole rotorcraft designed to perform surveillance and law enforcement operations. It can also be used for search-and-rescue efforts. According to Leonardo, the helicopter will support the country's efforts along its border, focusing on drug control and counter-terrorism missions.
The twin-engine platform features an advanced open-architecture avionics suite with a fully digital glass cockpit offering optimized situational awareness, and is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PW210A engines.
