India to build Leonardo’s AW169M and AW109 Trekker helicopters under Adani partnership
February 4, 2026
India’s helicopter market is set for a structural shift after Adani Defence & Aerospace and Leonardo signed a strategic partnership to build an integrated helicopter manufacturing ecosystem in the country. The agreement targets both military and future civil demand.
Announced on 3 February, the agreement centres on local production and lifecycle support for Leonardo’s AW169M and AW109 TrekkerM helicopters, platforms positioned to meet a large portion of the Indian Armed Forces’ projected requirement for more than 1,000 helicopters over the coming decade.
“With the Indian Armed Forces projecting demand for over 1000 helicopters in the coming decade, this partnership realises our vision for sovereign manufacturing,” says Ashish Rajvanshi, CEO, Adani Defence & Aerospace. “It will accelerate indigenisation, strengthen supply chains, and establish India as a world-class production base.”
AW109 Trekker and AW169M: Two helicopters, two distinct mission sets
At the lighter end of the portfolio sits the AW109 Trekker, a twin-engine, multi-role helicopter optimised for utility, surveillance, light transport and special mission roles.
The Trekker variant features skid landing gear, a reinforced airframe and high hot-and-high performance, making it well-suited for operations in India’s diverse terrain, from coastal regions to high-altitude environments.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207C engines and equipped with a full glass cockpit, the AW109 Trekker is designed for rapid role change, low operating costs and high dispatch reliability.
Its combination of speed, agility and relatively small footprint makes it attractive for military utility missions as well as for future civil applications such as air ambulance, offshore support and government transport.
The heavier AW169M addresses a broader and more demanding operational envelope. The militarised version of Leonardo’s AW169 civil platform, the AW169M is configured for troop transport, command-and-control, reconnaissance, armed escort and disaster relief.
With a maximum take-off weight of around 4.8 tonnes, twin FADEC-controlled engines, energy-absorbing landing gear and crashworthy fuel systems, the AW169M is designed to meet modern military survivability standards.
Its modular cabin allows rapid reconfiguration between troop transport, medical evacuation and mission-specific layouts, while its advanced avionics support single-pilot operations and all-weather capability.
From helicopter assembly to an Indian ecosystem
Crucially, the Adani–Leonardo partnership goes beyond simple assembly. The agreement outlines a phased indigenisation roadmap covering manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), pilot training and long-term sustainment.
The intent is to create a vertically integrated rotorcraft ecosystem anchored in India, with the potential to support not only domestic demand but also international supply chains.
According to the companies, the programme is expected to generate thousands of skilled jobs across engineering, manufacturing, logistics and sustainment, while strengthening India’s aerospace supplier base.
Leonardo brings decades of helicopter design and certification experience, while Adani contributes industrial scale, defence manufacturing infrastructure and lifecycle support capability.
“We’re extremely pleased to join forces with Adani to provide our contribution to India’s vision for an even stronger and growing role of their rotorcraft industry, and to enable the country to access the level of modern technology and operational capability it deserves,” says Gian Piero Cutillo, Managing Director, Leonardo Helicopters.
“We look forward to making progress in this endeavour, leveraging our complementary expertise to deliver the best solutions.”
Bridging defence and civil helicopter manufacturing in India
Although the initial focus is on military requirements, both partners have signalled that the ecosystem could be extended to civil applications over time. This dual-use potential aligns with India’s broader ambition to blur the traditional boundary between defence and civil aerospace manufacturing.
That ambition has been reinforced by Adani’s recent moves in fixed-wing aviation. Earlier this year, the group announced a partnership with Embraer to explore manufacturing and lifecycle support for commercial aircraft in India, signalling a clear intent to build capabilities across both rotary- and fixed-wing platforms.
Taken together, the Embraer engagement and the Leonardo helicopter programme point to a deliberate strategy: positioning India not just as an assembly location, but as a full-spectrum aerospace manufacturing and sustainment hub.
Strategic timing for India’s helicopter modernisation
The timing of the helicopter partnership is significant. India’s existing rotary-wing fleet spans multiple legacy types, many of which face obsolescence, high sustainment costs and availability challenges.
At the same time, the armed forces are seeking modern, network-enabled platforms that can operate seamlessly across joint and multi-domain environments.
For Leonardo, the partnership offers a pathway to long-term access to one of the world’s largest helicopter markets at a time when global defence customers are increasingly prioritising sovereign production and supply-chain resilience.
For Adani, it represents a further step in transforming from a licence manufacturer into a systems-level aerospace integrator.
If executed as planned, the Adani–Leonardo collaboration could reshape India’s helicopter landscape in much the same way that earlier programmes transformed the country’s fixed-wing defence aviation sector.
Add a button.
Featured image: Leonardo
