The AW609 tiltrotor programme has undertaken its first successful ship trial, supported by the Italian Navy.
From 3-12 April 2024, the AW609 AC4 aircraft, in its final production configuration, conducted demonstration trials at the Maristaer Grottaglie Naval Base.
The trials included take-offs and landings on the Italian aircraft carrier ITS Cavour, demonstrating the tiltrotor’s approach, stable deck landing, and touchdown capabilities.
The trials were preceded by a test campaign using the AW609 development/engineering simulator in Cascina Costa. This digital twin application provided a preliminary assessment of the activities and manoeuvres, benefiting capability development, time reduction, safety, and sustainability say the firm.
The aircraft performed deck landing and take-off procedures in over 15 different conditions, including various wind conditions.
The trials are part of ongoing activities by a joint working group established in 2022, comprising Leonardo, the Italian Navy, the Italian Army, and Guardia di Finanza (Italy’s Customs Police). The group aims to evaluate the potential of tiltrotor technologies as complementary capabilities to existing assets in government services.
“Fast rotorcraft technologies continue to be core to our forward-looking capability development and value proposition in the vertical lift domain, which has been extensively demonstrated by the progress on the AW609 tiltrotor programme. The recent ship trials in Italy, with the strong support of the Italian Navy, represent an important step towards the development of government applications,” said Lorenzo Mariani, Co-General Manager of Leonardo.
“The success of these trials set a major capability demonstration milestone to show the unique advantages of tiltrotors, particularly the AW609. This experience provides an important opportunity to appreciate benefits that can truly revolutionise a range of missions or even open new operational possibilities,” added Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director of Leonardo Helicopters.
Following the ship trials, Leonardo will begin a detailed evaluation and analysis of the collected data. This will allow for potential follow-on trials to refine approaches and enhance the platform for naval and embarked environments.
Didn’t even realise there was another tilt rotor being worked on. Intresting, if not rather small fuselage for any naval application.
Perfect for QE’s then…
For what though?
It’s a 7000kg machine with a payload of 2500kgs and 6-9 passengers..which is better than the internal load of a black hawk or Seahawk range medium rotor…it also has a 900mile range at full load ( twice the range of a medium rotor), goes around 100miles an hour faster than a medium rotor and as a sensor platform has a ceiling of 25,000 feet or over twice that of any medium rotor, it’s also a pressured cabin for crew being able to function… its pretty much superior in every way to the same weight class of rotor ( black hawk,… Read more »
OK but I think what most are asking is whether it could fulfill roles like AEW or cargi delivery but it seems a little small, ignoring the other issues with tilt rotors.
Well it’s got greater internal space than a sea hawk, can carry 12 people or 2500kgs of load…so the answer is yes.
There’s no AEW version of a Sea hawk, better question, how does it compare to a Merlin.
There’s a bit of a space issue when you look at pictures of the inside
https://www.navylookout.com/first-crowsnest-equipped-airborne-surveillance-and-control-helicopter-goes-into-service-with-the-royal-navy/
There’s a picture in there of the crownest equipment
https://www.agusta.com/range/AW609-TiltRotor?lang=en
And in here are pictures of the actual cabin size. It may be long enough to fit more people than a sea hawk, doesn’t make it wide or tall enough for much equipment
Not really as there is no need to compare lift capability ..Merlin is closer to a heavy lift rotor than a medium lift…the AEW offer is on Merlin because Merlin is the only naval rotor available to the RN that’s not really light weight…AEW sensors don’t need the full lift capability of Merlin….If you look at searchwater radar it only weighed in at 200kg…you can get a full fat 3D S band air search radar on a ship for 800kgs so the 2500kg load of a AW609 is plenty for almost any airborne radar the RN could need. so if… Read more »
Weight isn’t the issue, actual shape of the cabin is, plus the rotors don’t fold
But yes, unlikey either way.
It will never happen. I believe to get the contract to develop it they had to sign to say no military use? Im sure I heard that here a couple of years ago
I read the same – Bell handed the project over to Augusta on that basis.
Hi Andy, I did say it would never happen as the licensing agreement is that the AW609 will only be a civil design…as years ago it was the Bell Augusta 609 and when Augusta bought out Bell, as the US does it put a protection in the licence of military usage.
supposed to have a much smoother ride for occupants than a helicopter and range gives possibility of rescuing a downed pilot
There is no folding the wing, so this is not going to be in a ship.
These are generic trials and eventually for a land to ship supply operation.
no unfortunately the AW609 cannot be used for military applications..bell hold the license for the military version of this particular rotor family. I suspect the Italians are looking to get around that with paramilitary functions such as coastguard…which would get around the licence issue.
I thought they gave up on AW609 ages ago.
Same here Jim, it seems to have been rumbling on for decades…
Obviously, too big for the average carrier..
It’s not small, but it’s much smaller than the V-22 and V-280. It’s not far off the dimensions of a Merlin.
Possible AEWC platform. Probably can get up higher, go faster and better range?
Ceiling is 25,000 feet or double that of a medium rotor, range is 900 miles at full load..almost double that of a medium rotor, speed is 310mph around 100 miles an hour more than a medium rotor…it’s also got a pressured cabin for crew comfort and work…it would make a profoundly goos sensor platform for the carriers…trouble is AW don’t own the license to make a military version, Bell do…and have never bothered..although they are now wanting to develop the V280.and I imaging AW own some of the preparatory stuff Bell would like to use..so you many see AW and… Read more »
Merlin is a much bigger beast than you think. AW609 has a far smaller unfolded footprint than a Merlin.
Dimensions on landing (width by length, rotors turning)
Chinook: 18m x 30.2m (544m²)
Merlin: 18.6m x 22.8m (424m²)
V-22: 25.78m x 15.4m (397m²)
V-280: 24.93m x 15.4m (384m²)
AW609: 18.3m x 13.4m (245m²)
Wildcat: 12.8m x 15.24m (195m²)
For anyone thinking about possible UK applications from what I understand all tilt rotor’s are still complex and expensive to buy/operate.
With our budget better to pursue drone options for tanker, COD and AEW roles and stick with helo’s for commando insertion.
And if we really, really want a tilt rotor eventually then I’d rather we looked at a licence built version of the 280 Valour in the 2030’s.
I would agree, the innate problem with the AW 609 is that it tilts the whole engine, this was seen as a serious problem in the Osprey and as such the Valor only tilts the prop/forward nacelle itself, which gives a better and safer aerodynamic configuration and saves weight.
Absolutely, assuming Valor doesn’t get canned, let Uncle Sam work out the gremlins, get it into service and buy in the 2036/8 timeframe when it’s matured.
The primary problem with tilting the entire mechanism for the Army and the Marines is egress. They can’t barrel out of the side doors like they are used to. The uncrewed V-247 will also rotate the entire engine nacelle (and a chunk of wing to boot).
It’s was one of the design requirements for the Valor. The wing is 8 ft above ground level, plus the engine is kept horizontal on the wing tip. Which means the exhaust is not blasting a hole in the ground and creating a dust storm and throwing stones everywhere. The sliding side door has a bigger area than the Blackhawks, again to help ingress/egress.
Yes probably have to wait for tilt though a great synergy with f35 b carrier operations
My nephew is a master sergeant in the US airforce he tells me if they deploy three ospreys they need a fourth full of spares
Agree. A small ASA radar fitted to a drone with long endurance would be better for AWACS role. Then networked into a carrier battle groups air wing and screening destroyers and frigates.
The perennial problem will be funding an AWACs drone but the benefit of removing Crowsnest from the tasking of our Merlin fleet will be more Merlin available for ASW role, for which they are desperately needed and too few in number.
Having a relatively small drone such as a MQ9 as the AEW platform, significantly compromises the purpose of AEW. To detect threats as far away as possible you need a decent radar. Yes you could use an X-band radar as per Crowsnest (Serchwater 2000). But you are constrained by physics, as X-band is more effected by atmospheric absorption. Which means its range is heavily tied to how much transmit power it can produce. Hence why you see most X-band airborne radars with a range of around 200 to 250km. Which is also conditional on the target and amount of energy… Read more »
I’m just going to put this out there for your enjoyment and something to ponder on. Go onto a search engine, stick in “Fairy Rotodyne” select video and just go oh. One just has to wonder what the hell coukd be done with modern engines and materials and the engineering principles are way simpler. IMHO the idea of tilting the entire engine and rotor assembly from lift to propulsion just looks wrong. So why bother if you can just use an unpowered Gyrotor for lift when in forward motion and bleed jets at the rotor tips for hover, liftoff and… Read more »
I think this is an excellent take. As I say above newer designs (this one goes way back, they just can’t let it go) don’t tilt the whole engine it’s too problematical certainly as you go bigger. I am convinced a while back I read somewhere (possibly on New Atlas but finding older articles reliably is not easy there) that a modern take on the Rotodyne is being conceptually worked on due to ongoing research and development around e-Copters and the like has made the concept far more feasible and yes bleed jets potentially quieter. But that latter or an… Read more »
The Fairy Rotordyne style of convertiplane has a number of significant advantage over a tilt rotor, such as the Osprey, Valort or AW609. Primarily the rotor blades can be correctly sized to match the aircraft’s predicted max all up weight. Which means loading on the disc can be much lower and therefore more efficient. Secondly using only one rotor disc allows it to be placed centrally. But also allows it to be placed high above a main wing. On something like the Osprey, the gearbox and prop-rotors have a finite height above the wing when in the vertical position. This… Read more »
The rotodyne was scrapped because of the noise level generated by the rotor jets. For an aircraft intended to move passengers between city centres, this was unacceptable. I recall that sound reduction was achieved but by then the government had cut the funding.
For purely military use, the noise level, only occuring briefly during lift off and landing, might not matter so much. The design does look more elegant then the rather Heath Robinson tilt rotors.
Old saying if it looks right then most of the time it is. As I say with modern materials and engine tech it should be way quieter and efficient.
I actually built an Airfix 1/72 model kit of this when I were a lad 🤔 I just thought it was just so Thunderbirds !
Surely with modern quietening techniques (like the feathering on jet engines) and materials it would be possible to make a significantly quieter Rotodyne? I imagine it would be very useful as a Chinook/Osprey competitor, able to travel very fast and quietly at low altitudes and then unload a load of troops/jeeps by landing vertically. Realistically a helicopter landing is going to be spotted for miles anyway and the risk of attack on the ground is not great with only 5 minutes or less spent unloading or loading, but being able to escape or enter twice as fast as much more… Read more »
I would see it as perfect for carrier on board delivery and also for replacing the Merlin baggers for air radar coverage. Also now we have lost Hercs, be good for Special forces insertion. No idea what the range was on this and how it compares v chinooks.
It’s hard to compare the Rotodyne with modern helis because of advances in e.g. aerodynamic modelling, materials etc. My intuition says that it would be better than a Chinook; you have the same number of engines but they produce more sideways thrust and power a single larger rotor. A small one could perhaps have the engine at the back to produce an aircraft like the Sikorsky Raider but with the autogyro and tip jet abilities. That would be great for special forces because it’s quiet in transit and much faster and more efficient than a heli. I don’t think another… Read more »
The Rotordyne’s hover efficiency is the same as a standard helicopter.
The tip jets are feed “cool” pressurized air and fuel through pipes. At the rotor hub, these were flexible. As the blade needed to flap from aerodynamic loads. So in theory the blades could be folded.
The convertiplane design can be scaled up or down to suit the need.
Oh, the tip jets were actually powered?
I was under the impression that they were just redirected bleed air from the engines in the manner of the Harrier hover controls. That’s more complicated than I thought.
A problem with folding would be the wings with engines on.
Could the same effect be achieved by using a engine at the back in the manner of the Sikorsky Defiant? You could then use folding wings which could also be longer and more efficient.
HI SB, yep think of them in the same function as an afterburner. Where the fuel is injected in to the pressurised airstream and ignited. I did read that on one of the versions it included a fixed shaped compressor similar to a ramjet to aid combustion. This is why they were soo loud. Fairy had developed and tested at their White Waltham site a number of exhaust diffusers, that reduced the noise by around 20dBs. Sadly by the time of the reports being finalised, the Government had pulled the plug. If you go to the helicopter museum at Weston… Read more »
Hi DB, it’s nice to have you back for the technical articles. The “afterburner” explanation makes a lot of sense, it’s no wonder the thing was so loud. I had previously tied myself in knots trying to work out how you were supposed to produce no torque from redirecting the air into the rotor blades with enough pressure to produce lift. How good would these things be exactly? Say you were a concept designer for Leonardo/Agusta/Airbus and planning a family of rotodyne type helicopters for the UK: A Wildcat naval or land attack helicopter replacement. Must have a similar folded… Read more »
I made ChatGPT write a long report on this potential “family of aircraft”, sorry if it’s a bit boring: ## Extended Report on the Rotodyne Family of Aircraft for the United Kingdom Armed Forces ### Executive Summary This report presents a comprehensive analysis and design overview of a family of three advanced VTOL aircraft based on the principles of the Fairey Rotodyne. These aircraft, designated RT-1 (Rotodyne Assault), RT-2 (Rotodyne Medium Utility), and RT-3 (Rotodyne Heavy Transport), are intended to replace multiple existing helicopter and transport platforms within the British Armed Forces. This report details their design features, equipment, applications,… Read more »
HI SB, had a look through your requirements below and I think a family of Rotordyne based convertiplanes is not only doable. But would also give the Forces a step change in capability. It would open up an export market, that will be looking for the next evolution past the current off the shelf aircraft, that can compete with the USA’s Defiant and Valor in particular equally, in terms of range and performance. If we start with the Lynx/Wildcat replacement. Airbus are sort of ahead here, with their X3 prototype. Which is more of a compound helicopter than convertiplane.… Read more »
I feel cheap now; I just ask questions and feed prompts into an AI writer, and you seem to have spent this afternoon writing a whole essay purely for my benefit. Thanks and very, very much appreciated 👍 Wouldn’t the largest design be most suitable for AEW? It would have plenty of space and weight for extra fuel tanks along with heavy radar. Unlike a Merlin replacement, the only space requirement is to fit down the lifts on an aircraft carrier, each of which takes 2 F35 with room to spare. Also, would it be viable , wrt the light… Read more »
Absolutely and every time – sacrilege that they scrapped the only working model I never get why we have that policy in the UK, see nimrod too circa 2010 etc.
Could it be fitted with a radar on top for use as a STOVL AEW&C aircraft for carrier use?
I dunno, even if it could lift that, getting the equipment in the cabin would be intresting. If that was the case Italy would be lookin at it I’d hope. Their Merlin AEW pretty much failed.
Only roles I’ve seen mentioned for it so far are rapid troop transport and medevac
FYI the Fairy Rotodyne had a party trick it could lift a 100 ton Girder Bridge and hover with it,
Hi ABCRodney,
I think you’ll find it was a 100 ft girder bridge rather than a 100 ton girder bridge. Still a very impressive achievement as it would have been an unwieldy load and I can think of no other vertical take off rotor craft being able to do that in the late 50’s early 60’s.
Cheers CR
The problem (other than its woefully, troubled prolonged gestation) is that unless the agreement with Bell has changed this aircraft cannot be armed. Now how far the definition of ‘armed’ goes into defence procurement may not be publicly clear here, but if you use it on a naval ship with all the related costs of so doing being unable to arm it hardly makes it attractive whatever its main duties might be. Bell didn’t seem to think its potential was such that it wanted to pursue it (military or commercially) so I remain unconvinced that an aircraft first planned for… Read more »
Last year the relationship between the two firms (now Bell and Leonardo) was renewed.
My apologies: it was earlier this year. Hasn’t time flown!
http://www.leonardo.com/en/press-release-detail/-/detail/29.02.24-bell-ldo
Not at present..as it’s civilian only and this was once the Bell Augusta 609…it’s pretty well know bell did not hand over the military use licence when it sold its share in 2011…as its been wanting to develop its own medium lift military tilt rotor ( the V280).
looks like AW think they have scope to develop it as a paramilitary machine…..
Why doesn’t the USN try a De Havilland DCH Buffalo landing on a carrier
It could probably land with a greater weight or number of troops than any tilt rotor.
If the USN wants a truly better aircraft they should ask Viking Air to design a new craft based on their jet with blown flaps design that De Havilland did in the past.
Unless that entire wing section rotates like the V-22 it would take up more space than a pair of Merlins and way more than a V-22. That makes it pretty useless for any platform where space is at a premium.
Keep trying though because we need something for COD work in the RN
Precisely. I think this is just a trial for land-ship-land supply function.
It seems to have taken a staggering amount of time to get to this point. The initial concept in the late 1990’s. The landing trials on the Aircraft carrier, are to do with the oil and gas sector.
Although this is a brilliant if costly replacement for medium life rotors ( same load, more passengers, pressurised cabin, twice the ceiling at 25,000 feet, almost twice the range at 900miles fully loaded, and 30% faster at over 300mph) ..it has one big problem..before it was the AW609 it was bell Augusta 609..and when AW purchase Bells stake it was pretty well know that Bell refused to all it to be developed as a military tilt as they wanted to develop their own ( V280)…which means it’s very likely unless the U.S. does not do its usual screw over protectionism… Read more »
I bet Bell and Leonardo could come to a licensed agreement. Leonardo license builds many other manufacturers aircraft and is not afraid to work with others in the industry. For example, Leonardo builds the international market CH-47s. I’m sure Bell won’t let them do it for free, but there is no reason why Bell wouldn’t want to cash in on some license rights and make a bit of money on the 609 which they spent a lot of development on. There are a lot of European governments that would much rather purchase from a European manufacturer. Also Leonardo’s next gen… Read more »
From what I have read I think Leonardo are hoping for that..but I would imaging they will pay out the nose for it if they can get it..but I’m not sure Bell will play ball as why would they enable a direct competitor to V280 in a profoundly limited market.
I’m not so sure they really would compete with each other. The AW609 is much smaller than the V280 and has a pressurized cabin so it’s service ceiling is 25,000 ft vs 6,000.
I have to say that the AW609 if competitively priced would be a solution for the RN on the carriers. The question is this 1) It provides a significant increase in altitude and range for AEW work which is one of the problems with Merlin, with inflight refuelling (which Merlin can not do) the range should be significant. The question is can it be purchased cheaper than the from ground up new Drone capability that RN seems obsessed with and could it be operational before the Merlin AEW option is pulled from service. Quite simply is integrating a known AEW… Read more »
wonder how many they can put in the hangar given the huge wing and the fact there is a massive engine sitting at each wing tip.
Doesn’t look too sturdy either.
Biggest issue to service is Aw/leonardo’s buyout of the program from Bell stipulates that no armaments may be fitted to a 609, offensive or defensive. So cargo and out of theatre transport only