On the occasion of Langkawi International Maritime & Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition 2023 in Malaysia, Leonardo has appointed Helitech Asia as the distributor for its latest generation single-turbine helicopter, the Kopter AW09, in southeast Asia.

At Heli-Expo 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia this March Leonardo had announced preliminary sales contracts for over 50 AW09s with various customers, and these included 10 units and 10 options for Helitech Asia. The southeast Asian company will distribute the AW09 in the markets of Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea and Vietnam, where customers have expressed a strong interest in acquiring the new helicopter.

Both parties will greatly benefit from this partnership. The Helitech Asia team with its extensive aeronautical experience in the region is Leonardo's ideal partner to sell the state of the art AW09, whose outstanding cabin gives the aircraft an unequalled mission capability and versatility, allowing it to perform various missions, ranging from passenger transport, utility, EMS or law enforcement.

Acquired three years ago by Leonardo, Kopter's AW09 complements Leonardo's product range in the long light single segment, introducing an all-new design aircraft to sustain a long-term competitive positioning in this weight category.