Moscow – 18 July 2017 – Leonardo is showcasing its products and capabilities at the International Aviation and Space Exhibition MAKS 2017 held in Zhukovsky, Russia, from 18 to 23 July. The company has a longstanding presence in Russia and various collaborations particularly in the aerospace and communications/security sectors.

This year Leonardo is exhibiting an AW139 civil helicopter on display through Exclases Holdings Lts, its official distributor in Russia, and a latest-generation cockpit featuring a single panoramic display. The AW139 is the bestselling helicopter in its category with orders for over 1000 units in over ten years by hundreds of customers worldwide. The type has achieved significant success in Russia as well, with nearly 30 aircraft sold to various operators, particularly for transport duties. It is also locally assembled for the regional civil market in collaboration with Russian Helicopters company through the HeliVert joint venture.

The latest-generation cockpit is designed to respond the market demand for enhanced flight situational awareness in all operational, weather and environmental conditions for both rotary and fixed-wing platforms to the benefit of mission effectiveness and safety. Based on a single multi-touch panoramic display, the new cockpit delivers high performance information fusion with efficient weight, size and cost thanks to the reduction in the number of computer units and avionics cables required. The system offers pilots greater safety in Degraded Visual Environments (DVE), for example in sand storms, fog and rain, particularly during critical take-off and landing phases and in low altitude flight, therefore reducing crew stress and overall workload. The system integrates flight information with 2D and 3D maps and with data from a wide range of sensors and databases in order to display an accurate and reliable virtual view to the pilot.

With a fleet of over 50 civil helicopters of various types (AW119, AW109, AW139, AW189) used by various operators mainly for transport and utility roles, Leonardo is the strongest foreign manufacturer in the Russian twin-engine rotorcraft market. The civil AW189 model has recently entered service in the country with RN-Aircraft (Rosneft) who will have taken delivery of a total of 10 units by the end of 2017 for transport tasks supporting the Oil&Gas industry.

This model will be assembled locally at HeliVert to meet regional market needs. Another type, the AW169, will enter the market in 2018. Leonardo has expanded its support and maintenance network in the country in recent years to meet the growing fleet requirements. The company is now targeting new opportunities such as in the emergency medical service market where the operators need to replace an ageing helicopter fleet to meet the evolving operational requirements and demand for new technology, latest safety standards, high performance and all-weather capabilities. Leonardo’s

New generation helicopters meet the latest certification and safety standards and feature full ice protection systems to carry out the mission in extreme environments.

Leonardo collaborates with Russian State-owned company United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) regional transport airplane programme through the Superjet International joint venture. Leonardo is present in Russian and CIS countries also through ATR, its 50-50 joint venture with Airbus, a world leader in regional turboprop manufacture and sale.

Leonardo has played an important role in the civil Russian market since the 1990s, particularly in postal and communications sectors. A key partner of Russian Post, to which it has supplied a turnkey automated sorting centre for Moscow as the main logistics hub in the country, Leonardo has achieved collaboration agreements in the e-commerce, logistics and Hybrid Mail sectors and signed several important contracts. Leonardo also delivered TETRA (Terrestrial Tunked Radio) radios to companies, public security agencies, airports and rail stations.

In the space sector, one of the latest collaborations with Russia is represented by the supply of a system that will allow analysis in 2021 of the Moon’s sub-soil as a key contribution to Luna-Resurs, a partnership between ESA (European Space Agency) and Roscosmos (the Russian Space Agency). Luna-Resurs should land a probe to search for water and raw materials that might be used for building a future permanent base. Moreover, through its joint venture with Thales, namely Thales Alenia Space, and Telespazio, Leonardo has an important technological role for the ExoMars mission led by ESA and Roscosmos. Thales Alenia Space has also been collaborating with a number of Russian operators in the satellite sector.

Fonte: comunicato Leonardo in lingua inglese