With over 400 helicopters currently in service in Latin America, Leonardo boasts a significant share of this market in both the civil/public utility and military sectors. Leonardo, through its local presence, offices and service and maintenance centres, has continued to work at the side of its customers, despite the Covid-19 crisis, by supporting the operational availability of their fleets, carrying forward both existing and new programmes and helping the operators who are more directly involved in medical transport to cope with the pandemic.
Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, and Peru are the four countries where Leonardo has identified as particularly good market prospects for several of its helicopters.
Brazil is the continent's biggest market for VIP helicopters, with the AW109 already the best-seller within the sector. Having always been highly rated for its excellent balance between load capacity, speed, manoeuvrability, and versatility, the AW109 is perfect for cities like São Paulo where there are frequent helicopter transfers between skyscraper rooftops.
In addition, the AW169 is also increasingly in demand, with nine aircraft already delivered and another two in production. Brazil is also regarded as a promising market for the innovative single-engine Kopter SH09, currently under development.
The Brazilian EMS (Emergency Medical Services) sector is also growing rapidly. Rescue operations have traditionally been the responsibility of the public security organisations (e.g. the Policia Rodoviaria - the federal highway police (currently an AW119Kx customer) or of the fire department. Nonetheless, significant potential also exists for the development of specific helicopter ambulance services. Leonardo is ready to respond to the various calls to tender both at federal level and that of the individual states, having its own complete range of light helicopters including the AW119Kx, AW109 and AW169 models.
It is also important to note that Brazil has set up several national development plans spanning the economy, industry, and the mining sector. The latter holds significant prospect for aircraft in weight categories covered by the so-called “AW Family,” mostly for larger models like the AW189, which is particularly suited to off-shore operations.
Brazil is also key for customer technical support and maintenance services. The new Support Centre at Itapevi, about 30 km from São Paulo, is being built to boost the regional hub role (previously housed in the still-operational site in São Paulo) and will have the ability to provide aircraft maintenance services (both civil and military), as well as training for pilots and technicians for the entire South American market. This is a modular infrastructure that can be expanded to offer additional support services based on market requirements.
Colombia also offers significant opportunities for Leonardo. Its recent order of an AW139 helicopter for presidential transport is Leonardo's first sale to the national Air Force. Since the AW139 is the natural replacement for the Huey UH-1 in its multiple versions, including the B212 and B412, Leonardo’s best-seller is the ideal solution to modernize the military fleets of customers and countries throughout the region, including Colombia.
Leonardo offers a helicopter that is new, but also easy to integrate into the local logistical chain. Leonardo's experience, in Italy as an example, of replacing AB212s and AB412s (previously produced under licence) with the AW139 has enabled it to develop a straightforward and simple transition process to this fully-tested, latest-generation product. The AW139 introduces important new features in terms of accessibility to major systems, a lower number of components, extended component lifecycles, predictive maintenance and service planning, all to the benefit of operational efficiency and availability.
The situation is similar in Argentina and Peru, other key markets for Leonardo. The AW139 is an ideal solution due to its unrivalled high-altitude performance in its class, an essential capability for the region's environmental conditions.
In summary, Leonardo offers a wide range of products to suit all customer needs in South America, in a way that is unmatched by the competition. Within its own weight class, each helicopter ensures an excellent combination of performance, equipment, avionics and mission suites, in addition to localized technical support.