Leonardo helicopter sales grow in Indonesia

ROME – Leonardo, the Italian aerospace, defence and security company, announced on Wednesday that they are expanding in Indonesia.

 The company said they had received two orders for light intermediate AW169 helicopters for corporate use and that they would be making further deliveries this year to the airline Travira and to emergency services in the country.

 The sales mean that Leonardo’s fleet has grown by 100 percent in the last three years in the country. Evidence, the company argued, of “the flexibility of the Leonardo helicopter portfolio.”

 The news will come as a boost to Italian industry, with Leonardo running helicopter plants in Vergiate and Tessera, alongside other outlets in the UK, US and Poland.

 However, Leonardo’s presence in the country remains deeply tied to Indonesia’s military, with the company collaborating “with several government and military programmes including defence systems for the Indonesian Navy and space surveillance programmes.”  

 Indeed, in early 2017, the purchase of a 55 million dollar Leonardo helicopter became the centre of a corruption investigation within the country’s army.

 Previously known as Finmeccanica, Leonardo's presence in Asia has not been without it’s difficulties. In 2014 their then chief executive, Giuseppe Orsi, was accused of bribing officials to secure a multi-million-dollar deal with the Indian government. The deal was subsequently cancelled. 

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