AW109
ICAO A109A fast, slim Italian light twin used for liaison, training and rescue. Live AW109 positions.
Flying right now
Live · 30s
No AW109 is transmitting ADS-B at the moment.
Military aircraft are not obliged to broadcast, so this happens regularly. The count refreshes every thirty seconds.
Airframe
- Manufacturer
- Leonardo
- Role
- Light utility and training helicopter
- Class
- H2T — Helicopter, 2 turboshaft engines
- Crew
- 1 to 2
- First flight
- 4 August 1971
- In service
- 1976
Operators airborne
Nothing of this type is up right now.
About the AW109
The AW109 has been in production for fifty years and remains one of the fastest light twin helicopters available, with retractable undercarriage — unusual in this class — that gives it a notably clean profile in flight.
Military users treat it as a liaison and training aircraft. Greece, Italy, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia and others fly it, and the armed A109LOH version has seen service in several smaller air arms.
It appears here in ones and twos, usually European, on short local sorties.
Callsign prefixes
- HAF
- Hellenic Air Force
- IAM
- Italian Air Force
- RESCUE
- Search and rescue tasking
How to recognise it
- —A slim, streamlined light twin with retractable wheels — most helicopters this size have skids.
- —A four-blade main rotor and a sharply tapering tailboom.
- —A pointed, low-set nose that gives it a distinctly fast look on the ground.
Common questions
+ Why does the AW109 have retractable undercarriage?
Speed. It was designed as a fast light twin, and retracting the wheels gives a meaningful cruise advantage over the skid-equipped helicopters it competes with.
+ Is the AW109 the same as the AW119?
They are related but different. The AW119 Koala is the single-engine version with fixed skids; the AW109 is the twin with retractable gear.
+ Who flies it militarily?
Greece, Italy, Sweden, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Nigeria and others, generally for liaison, training and light utility work.