New AW09 helicopter is back in the air - after gearbox problem caused a five-month pause

The two Leonardo AW09 prototypes had not been flying for almost five month – Leonardo explained why this was the case during press briefings at the 2025 VAI Verticon in Dallas, USA: They identified “a manufacturing non-conformity” with a supplier part in the transmission system. Leonardo further explained, that the heat treatment of metal components in the main gearbox caused the problem. The issue with the gear box part of an external supplier was discovered during destructive testing of the parts. As a result, flight tests were discontinued in October 2024.