The new Light Utility Helicopter will replace the aging AB206, AB205, AB212 and AB412 helicopters, performing roles such as utility transport, MEDEVAC and CASEVAC.
As part of its ongoing modernization effort, the Italian Army has received the first UH-169D Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). The delivery comes five years after the service received the first AW169 in the UH-169B “Addestratore Basico Commerciale” (Basic Commercial Trainer) configuration, used to start the training of the crews that will fly the final configuration of the helicopter, called “Multiruolo Avanzato” (Advanced Multirole).
The beginning of a new era
The delivery was part of a formal ceremony in the hangar of the 28° Gruppo Squadroni “Tucano” at Viterbo airport. Viterbo, currently home of the Army’s flight school, is also set to become home of a new joint national training center for all helicopter pilots, exploiting the expertise of the Italian Air Force in the training sector.
The Italian Army (@Esercito) took a step forward in the framework of its comprehensive modernization plan with the delivery of the first #UH169DLight Utility Helicopter (#LUH).
The handover was carried out during an official ceremony held at the Italian Army Aviation’s… pic.twitter.com/mHlTL6EORh
— Leonardo Helicopters (@LDO_Helicopters) April 30, 2025
“This result is the fruit of a very important and dynamic level of synergy, which will certainly help us in the development of further programs, as essential as this one and already launched, as well as others that will inevitably have to be started, to bring the Army up to the expectations that the country places in us and of the complex and uncertain world that surrounds us,” stated the Chief of Staff of the Italian Army, General Carmine Masiello, during his speech at the ceremony. “Let’s move forward, united around the common goal of giving our soldiers the best to be able to carry out their tasks, because they, our soldiers, will always be on the front lines.”
The UH-169D is the result of the cooperation between the Italian Army and Leonardo, who worked together to adapt the AW169 helicopter to the needs of the Italian Army. In addition to the two UH-169Bs already in service, there are now 25 UH-169Ds on order, with deliveries expected to be completed by 2027.
“The Italian Army LUH certainly represents the beginning of a new era in terms of capabilities, technical support, mission flexibility and interoperability in the light helicopter segment,” said Leonardo Helicopters Managing Director, Gian Piero Cutillo, at the delivery ceremony. “This new program builds on decades of successful partnerships and continuous information exchange, aimed at fully understanding the changing operational needs and addressing them through the possibilities offered by new technologies, as modern scenarios also require a true multi-domain approach.”
Notably, the first UH-169D delivered sports a white livery with the writing “ESERCITO” on the main cabin’s doors and the codes “E.I. 111” and the Italian roundel on the tail boom. The helicopter, which sports the military serial M.M.82181, was first spotted in flight in November 2024, when it flew still painted with only the primer.
The white livery is the usually seen on Italian UH-212 helicopters deployed to Lebanon as part of the Task Force ITALAIR, the Italian contribution to the UNIFIL Joint Task Force. According to some reports, this first aircraft might be soon deployed to replace the UH-212s in Lebanon, although there is no mention of it in the Army’s press release.
ITALAIR’s helicopters are provided by the 2nd Rtg. Aviazione dell’Esercito “Sirio” (2nd Rgt. Army Aviation “Sirius”, as the Army Aviation regiments are named after constellations), which was the unit who received the UH-169Bs and, according to a 2020 press release at the time of the delivery, was planned to become the first unit to be equipped with the final variant of the LUH.
Additionally, our contributor Oscar Bernardi photographed the first UH-169D helicopter in February 2025 with a partial final livery which also included the “UN” markings on the bottom of the fuselage, although they were covered by another patch of markings when the helicopter was spotted again a month later with the markings shown on delivery.
The UH-169 LUH
The AW169 LUH is based on the AW169M, the military variant of the AW169 light intermediate twin-engine helicopter, designed to carry out a wide range of tasks, including utility, surveillance, special operations, maritime patrol, land reconnaissance, training, rescue and firefighting.
According to the Italian Ministry of Defense, the new Light Utility Helicopter will replace the ageing Combat Support Helicopters (Elicotteri da Supporto al Combattimento, ESC) currently in service, like the A-109, AB-205, AB-206, AB-212 and AB-412, while filling the gaps due to the obsolescence of the fleet. Also, this will allow to optimize logistics with a single-platform fleet, instead of the current one based on five different helicopters that were put in service between the 1970s and the 1990s.
The requirements set for the program by the MoD requested an helicopter that was already in service in other Italian armed forces and law enforcement agencies, with Command and Control (C2) systems already in service or in the acquisition phase, a service life of 10,000 flight hours or no less than 30 years and the capability to communicate and transmit images and videos to the troops on the ground, both with Italian assets and in a joint/NATO environment, following the Army’s Forza NEC (Network Enabled Capability) program. The helicopter has also to perform in a “dual use” role for civilian Search And Rescue (SAR), MEDical EVAcuation (MEDEVAC), surveillance, firefighting and support in the event of natural calamities.
The advanced multirole configuration of the AW169 LUH currently features dedicated flight and mission equipment including NVG-compatible integrated glass cockpit, advanced C4 systems (Command, Control, Communication and Computers), rescue hoist and rappelling/fast roping equipment, Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) system, self-defense systems, searchlight, loudspeakers, cargo hook and both internal and external weapon stations.
The main external difference, compared to the baseline AW169, is the skid landing gear, which replaces the standard retractable landing gear. This allows the helicopter to land on every type of terrain, while keeping maintenance costs under control.
The helicopter is also equipped with the Leonardo MAIR (Multi Aperture InfraRed) threat warning system, which uses infrared cameras to simultaneously detect and track incoming missiles, as well as hostile gunfire threats, via their heat signatures. The IR technology allows the detection of threats at their very early stage thus providing a longer timeframe for counteraction.
