Leonardo AW109 - program supplier guide | Airframer

Leonardo AW109

In production

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Twin turboshaft light utility helicopter. Includes Power, Elite, stretched fuselage Grand and miltary LUH variants. Produced under licence in South Africa by Denel Aviation (ended 2009) and also in China as CA109.

Lift type

Rotary wing

Assembly

Factory-built

Control

Piloted

Engine type

Turboshaft

Application

Business, Military transport, Search & rescue, Utility

Design & construction

The aircraft as engineered: what it is built from, the systems it flies with, and its configuration — each box a theme.

Airframe & structure

Primary structure

Aluminium

Landing gear

Retractable tricycle

Ice protection

Electro-thermal

Pressurisation

Unpressurised

Systems & avionics

Flight controls

Mechanical

Autopilot

3-axis

Avionics architecture

Integrated glass suite

Environmental control

Vapour-cycle

Configuration & certification

Rotor configuration

Single main + tail

Certification

Part 29

Minimum crew

Technical reference compiled with AI research; a value appears only where two independent research passes and a web fact-check agree. Gaps are deliberate.

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Type variants

Variant	Launch / first flight	Notes
Leonardo AW109	1971 / 1971	Production: 4 (2026) GAMA: Leonardo Helicopters AW109. Baseline variant, formerly A109.
Leonardo AW109 Power	1995 / 1995	Production: 6 (2019) GAMA: Leonardo Helicopters AW109 Power. Upgraded variant (engineering disgnation: A109E), includes special edition AW109 Power Elite (launched 2001), and CAH CA109.
Leonardo AW109 LUH	2006 / 2006	Military variant, formerly known as A109M.
Leonardo AW109 GrandNew	2010 / 2010	Production: 13 (2022) GAMA: Leonardo Helicopters AW109 GrandNew. Futher development of AW109S Grand (discontinued), includes AW109 Trekker and military variant AW109 TrekkerM.

Airframer

Changhe Aircraft Industry Group Co. (CHAIG)		CAH CA109 variant.
Leonardo Helicopters	News

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The program’s dated history — milestones, contracts, supplier selections and facilities, each linked to its source. Log in to view.

Information on this page is compiled from a variety of published sources; links do not necessarily imply recommendation or confirmation by the airframe manufacturer.