The TH-119 makes its first flight

Leonardo announced it successfully completed the initial flight test of the TH-119 IFR training helicopter on December, 20th, 2018. 

The TH-119 is the Leonardo’s bid to replace the U.S. Navy’s aging fleet of TH-57 Sea Ranger training helicopters, a variant of the successfull AW119, manufactured in the US with strong local supplier base. By completing this important milestone, the TH-119 remains on track to achieve full FAA IFR certification in early 2019, making it the only single-engine IFR certified helicopter in production in decades.

The TH-119 was flown at the company’s Philadelphia plant where all variants of AW119s are built. The helicopter performed excellently during the flight which included an assessment of general handling and avionics systems. If selected by the U.S. Navy, a fleet of over 125 TH-119s will be built in Philadelphia.