US Navy signs for more TH-73A training helos

The US Navy (USN) has contracted AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation to deliver a further 36 TH-73A training helicopters to add to the 32 already ordered.

Seen at the Sea-Air-Space conference outside Washington, DC, in May 2019, the TH-73A is to replace the Bell TH-57 JetRanger in training pilots for the US Navy, the US Marine Corps and the US Coast Guard. (Janes/Pat Host)

The USD171.04 million award announced on 12 November covers the manufacture and delivery of a second batch of helicopters under the USN’s Advanced Helicopter Training System (AHTS) programme. Work is expected to run through to December 2022.

The announcement of the follow-on award comes some 11 months after the US arm of Leonardo Helicopters received USD176.5 million in January for the initial batch of AW119-derived TH-73A helicopters to train USN, US Marine Corps (USMC), and US Coast Guard (USCG) undergraduate helicopter pilots. This initial award was protested by rival bidder Airbus Helicopters, but in May the US Government Accountability Office dismissed the protest, clearing AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation to continue the work at its Pennsylvania plant.