The US State Department has approved the foreign military sale of Leonardo AW119Kx helicopters to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It includes training, in-country field service assistance, aviation and ground support services, hardware, testing, spare parts, and sustainment.
The package is estimated to cost $100 million, with the number of helicopters undisclosed.
Work for the program encompasses deployment of up to five US government and seven contractor representatives to the Balkan state as part of a five-year support equipment operation and training.
Washington noted that this future contract will support national security and foreign policy goals of the US by bolstering a partner country critical to “political stability and economic progress” in Europe.
It added that the deal will not affect the American armed forces’ readiness and would not alter the military balance in the region.
“The proposed sale will improve the capability of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) to meet current and future threats by supporting regional and NATO cooperation exercises, protecting Bosnia and Herzegovinian national security interests in the country’s mountainous and inaccessible terrain,” the US state agency announced.
“The aircraft will also enable the AFBiH to better support disaster relief, search and rescue, and other humanitarian aid missions in the country, and will also serve for pilot training.”
Leonardo’s AW119Kx Aircraft
The AW119Kx measures 13 meters (43 feet) in length, weighs 1,500 kilograms (3,307 pounds), and has a rotor diameter of 11 meters (36 feet).
It can carry up to six passengers and is equipped with a 920-horsepower Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-37A turboshaft engine.
The helicopter can reach an altitude of over 4,500 meters (14,764 feet), has a top speed of 150 knots (278 kilometers/173 miles per hour), and a range of 515 nautical miles (954 kilometers/593 miles).
Users can operate the AW119Kx for endurance missions requiring up to five hours of straight flight time.
