Concerning
Post 185 Poland AW-149 weapons, don't know about the machine guns or rocket pods (They do make sense though.) unless they are the ones the Italians have on theirs?
But those weapons are
not listed in your ref. What is however in your
JANES ref is the following...
"The
AW149 is replacing the Mil Mi-2 ‘Hoplite' and some PZL-Świdnik W-3PL Głuszec multirole battlefield helicopters and
will be armed with Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire II air-to-surface missiles. Deliveries are scheduled to run until 2029."
Also, according to
JANES the
START should be JAN 2024 as the article (
Dated 8 JAN 2024.) clearly states the first 3 received were
formally cleared and are
fully operational and fielded by that date.
https://www.janes.com/osint-insights...for-operations
Recommend two
UNITS one as submitted in
Post 185 and a
second with the
MG's and HELLFIRE II missiles.
If Poland is receiving them from Italy with HF II capability you can be sure that
Italy has theirs equipped with them as well as those missiles
would require an advanced FCS.
More on them...
"The
AW149s, in a configuration
corresponding to the needs of the Polish Armed Forces, will be equipped with observation systems,
small arms, guided missiles, unguided rockets, and self-defense systems. The helicopters
will also be armed with the Hellfire missiles, 800 of those have been requested by Poland to the U.S. via a Foreign Military Sale (FMS). The armament, depending on the type and the helicopter’s configuration, may be installed in the cabin or externally on the stub wings."
https://theaviationist.com/2023/08/0...9-polish-land-
forces/
HELLRIRE II Missile: Was introduced in
1992 and has been continually updated since. Latest version as also used on
APACHE the system uses a common launcher the
M299 which holds
4 of these missiles. I expect the
AW-149 should be able to carry
2 launchers fully loaded.
APACHE-64E can hold 4 launchers or 16 missiles. We primarily use the "
LONGBOW" version and the more recently the
R9X HELLFIRE has become available sort of an "
assassins' bullet" some refer to it as the "
NINJA BOMB" suited more for operations using a
UAV.
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/conte...uct-Card-1.pdf
https://theaviationist.com/2025/03/0...missile-video/
(It deploys 6 blades and essentially "chops and dices" it's way to the target. It's a non-explosive weapon.)
Regards,
Pat
