Leonardo Pitches Wildcat to NZ Government

[FD2]

https://www.thepost.co.nz/politics/3607 ... s-pitch-nz

Hopefully they won't plump for more NH90s! No doubt the French will be offering amazing deals.

The Wildcat AW159 is an excellent small ship aircraft in service since 2015. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AgustaWes ... 59_Wildcat

The Sikorsky MH-60R is also though whether there is anything to be gained by also buying Sikorsky in New Zealand I'm not sure - the RAN has been operating it for 30 years. https://www.navy.gov.au/capabilities/ai ... 0r-seahawk

[CharlieOneSix]

I was very impressed with the Wildcat when I had the opportunity to sit in the cockpit of one at Yeovilton shortly after it entered service. Although there was a lot my host told me about its capabilities there was an awful lot of "Sorry, I can't talk about that"! It made the RN Wessex of yesteryear that FD2 and I flew seem like a Dinky toy in comparison.

[FD2]

It's tried and tested also as a development of the Lynx which has/had many thousands of hours service flying, mainly from small ships' decks. The RNZN has soldiered on for too long with its Sea Sprites.