North Macedonia To Procure AW169 and AW149 Helicopters From Leonardo
North Macedonia has decided to replace its current Soviet-made Mi-8/17 helicopters with Italian Leonardo’s AW169 and AW149 helicopters. North Macedonian Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska announced this decision in an interview with the country’s national news agency 360 Degrees on 22 January.
In his statement, the minister stated that this procurement plan, worth an estimated 330 million Euros ($359 million) to develop the country’s air force, includes a total of 8 Agusta Westland multi-purpose helicopters, made up of four AW169s and four AW149s. Petrovska explained that factors such as performance, pricing, logistics, and maintenance systems influenced their decision to select Leonardo Helicopters’ offer during the tender process. Airbus’ H145M and H225M helicopters, Bell’s 412M, and Lockheed Martin’s S-70 Black Hawk helicopter were among the competing bids.
Following this decision in North Macedonia, the next step will be the formation of the purchasing commission, which will be responsible for conducting the necessary technical negotiations with the Leonardo company and finalizing the contract. The talks with Leonardo will be unaffected by North Macedonia’s parliamentary and presidential elections on May 8, as the order has already been approved.
Leonardo Helicopters will deliver AW169 and AW149 helicopters to the North Macedonian Air Brigade within 24 to 36 months of signing the purchase agreement. These helicopters will be assigned to the 301 Transport Helicopter Squadron (301 Transportna Helikopterska Skvadron), which is based at Petrovec Air Base near the capital Skopje. Currently, this helicopter fleet operates three Mil Mi-17 helicopters and four Mil Mi-8MT helicopters procured from Ukraine in 1994 and 2001.
This Soviet-era equipment, which will be gradually decommissioned as new helicopters enter service, is slated to be donated to Ukraine. North Macedonia has previously donated a variety of military equipment to Ukraine, including four Sukhoi Su-25 ‘Frogfoot’ attack aircraft (three single-seat and one double), infantry weapons, ammunition, artillery equipment, T-72 Main Battle Tanks, and anti-aircraft weapon systems.
The Balkan country plans to fill the gap left by the military equipment it donated by purchasing Stryker and JLTV armored vehicles from the United States, air defense systems from France, and artillery systems from Turkey. This strategic move allows North Macedonia not only to retire obsolete Soviet equipment, but also to modernize its army with weapons systems in line with NATO standards, while also providing support to Ukraine.