Leonardo to assemble AW609 tiltrotor in Grottaglie, Italy
Leonardo has revealed further details of its plan to diversify its production site at Grottaglie, Italy; with the location to house the final assembly line for the company’s AW609 tiltrotors.…
June 25, 2024
Leonardo has revealed further details of its plan to diversify its production site at Grottaglie, Italy; with the location to house the final assembly line for the company’s AW609 tiltrotors.
The Italian manufacturer met with trade union representatives in Rome’s Unindustria headquarters to discuss the proposition, the latest in a series in diversification initiatives at the Taranto site. These include next-generation aerospace manufacturing projects including the Eurodrone wing, Vertical Aerospace’s VX4 fuselage, and the prototype fuselage of Leonardo’s remotely piloted Proteus helicopter.
Leonardo explains that new strategic initiatives for its Grottaglie location are part of a broader strategy of “ensuring a sustainable future for its Aerostructures Division, in which approximately €300 million have already been invested between 2019 and 2023”. This includes the construction of the new MaTeRIA (Materials Technology Research and InnovAtion) Lab, a joint venture with the Solvay group focusing on the development of new composite materials and production processes.
In a separate initiative, new premises are also being set up to host the Aerotech Campus (an advanced education programme programme for engineering graduates) in Grottaglie for the 2024/2025 academic year.
