Dubai Airshow: Tiltrotor makes its Dubai debut

Leonardo is presenting its revolutionary AW609 tiltrotor for the first time in the region at the show.

The aircraft was flown to Dubai for the opening ceremony of the helicopter terminal, built by Leonardo in partnership with Falcon Aviation Services at the Expo 2020 Dubai site.

An impressive feature of engineering, the AW609 has the ability to change the position of its two rotors in less than 60 seconds and can take-off vertically like a helicopter, while performing in-flight like an aeroplane.

Capable of carrying out a variety of missions, ranging from passenger transport and medical care to civil protection and search-and-rescue, it can fly at more than 500km/h. Meanwhile, its range of almost 1,400km increases to more than 2,000km/h with auxiliary tanks.

This year’s event marks the AW609 tiltrotor’s first appearance at an aerospace and defence exhibition outside Europe and the US.