AURORA, Colorado—Leonardo diverted the latest new-build TH-73A Thrasher training helicopter for the U.S. Navy for display at the Army Aviation Association of America summit here amid what it says is growing interest in a potential new-generation basic rotary wing trainer from both the U.S. Army and Air Force.
The aircraft, which is an instrument flight rules-certified derivative of Leonardo’s AW119Kx single-engine light helicopter, is the 83rd of 130 on order for the Navy. Deliveries began in 2021 after the TH-73A was selected in January 2020 to replace the Bell TH-57B/C SeaRanger—a version of the venerable Bell JetRanger—as the undergraduate rotary and tilt-rotor helicopter trainer for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard.
Leonardo, which produces the helicopter at its Philadelphia facility, is due to complete deliveries in 2025 and says more than 34,000 flight hours have so far been amassed since the first delivery. It adds that two of the Navy’s three helicopter training squadrons have either begun or completed transitioning to the TH-73A. Following display at the summit, the aircraft will finish delivery to the Navy’s training site at Naval Air Station Whiting Field, Florida.
Initial rotary wing training for the Army is currently conducted using the Airbus Helicopters UH-72A Lakota at Fort Novosel, Alabama, while Air Force helicopter training is performed on the Bell TH-1H Huey.
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