Last Thursday, the first production example of the AW609 made its maiden flight Leonardo have revealed. The aircraft (designated AC5) has begun flying in support of the flight test programme joining one US based and two Italian prototypes and and will be used to explore and expand the type’s mission capabilities as the test programme draws to it’s conclusion.
Three more examples of the type all destined for customer delivery are presently on the company’s final assembly line. Following completion of the flight test programme and certification AC5 will be retained by Leonardo for type development and customer demonstrations.
