Leonardo AW189 Level D Simulator In Malaysia

LEONARDO will introduce an AW189 Level D FFS (Full Flight Simulator) at its Helicopter Training Academy in Malaysia early next year, in line with the framework of its continued service expansion and commitment to customer proximity. The simulator is the result of the longstanding collaboration between Leonardo and CAE through their Rotorsim 50-50 joint venture. 

The new simulator will complement an existing AW139 FFS and respond to the growing demand in Southeast Asia for the AW189, one of the world’s and the region’s most successful super medium helicopter, with advanced pilot training capability aimed at maximising mission safety and effectiveness in the specific regional conditions, while enhancing sustainability through the highest level of synthetic training. Crews will receive OEM-class training for a range of missions, including energy support, search and rescue (SAR), emergency medical service (EMS), disaster relief, passenger transport, utility, firefighting and law enforcement.

Since 2019, the AW189 fleet in Southeast Asia has more than doubled and is set to further expand in the next few years. Although already well established in the region, Leonardo has experienced even faster growth in the Southeast Asia rotorcraft market in recent years, offering a growing range of models that cover a wide spectrum of missions. This further testifies the importance of the company’s localised support and training services. The Training Academy was established in 2013. Twelve years later, almost 5,500+ students have been trained and nearly 44,000 FFS hours have been amassed.

Malaysia is a clear example of Leonardo’s strong commitment to customer proximity and serves a strategic hub for the Asian market across a range of missions, enabling effective reach and supporting operators spread over several countries. To further confirm this strong commitment, a new AW169 FTD is in its installation phase, and is expected to be ready for customers in 2026.

Over the last ten years, technical and maintenance services based in Malaysia, including maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), modification, upgrade and reconfiguration, and blade repair, have demonstrated an impressive expansion, supporting the 130% increase in the Leonardo helicopter fleet in Southeast Asia, specifically in the energy support and public services markets. Leonardo Malaysia’s headcount has grown from 20 to more than 120 professionals. Today, Leonardo is serving from Malaysia more than 230 helicopters,amassing about 70,000 flight hours per year. In recent years, the regional fleets of Super Lynx and AW159 military helicopters have benefitted from the localised support services.–-shp/adj/dl (Pix:LEONARDO)