Sale of AW119Kx Koala helicopters approved for the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina
May 25, 2025
The number of AW119Kx helicopters requested and offered has not been disclosed, but the current unit ‘list price’ of an AW119Kx is reported to be US $3.1 million.
The principal contractor will be Leonardo Helicopters US, AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corporation, based in Philadelphia (PA), rather than Leonardo Helicopters in Italy. The US-built AW119Kx is operated by the US Navy as the TH-73A Thrasher for pilot training, which makes it eligible for the US government’s FMS (Foreign Military Sales) process.
The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) currently operates a mixed fleet of legacy Soviet- and US-supplied helicopters, including four Mi-8MTV and eight Mi-8 ‘Hip’ helicopters and a single Mi-17, as well as 16 Bell UH-1H and two Bell UH-1V Huey II variants. The Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters were reportedly upgraded in Ukraine to meet NATO interoperability standards, but are becoming increasingly difficult to support, and the new AW119Kx helicopters will be used to replace them.
The DSCA notification stated that “The proposed sale will improve the capability of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) to meet current and future threats by supporting regional and NATO co-operation exercises, protecting Bosnia and Herzegovinian national security interests in the country’s mountainous and inaccessible terrain. The aircraft will also enable the AFBiH to better support disaster relief, search and rescue, and other humanitarian aid missions in the country, and will also serve for pilot training.”
