Update: Leonardo flies first production standard AW609 tiltrotor

Leonardo has flown a production standard AW609 tiltrotor for the first time, the company announced on 19 November. The milestone took place on 13 October at the company’s Philadelphia production facility in the US, and saw aircraft AC5 perform an initial in-flight evaluation of its systems and general handling. As noted by Leonardo, AC5 will be retained by Leonardo contributing to customer demonstrations, mission capability evaluation, and expansion, and supporting the manufacturer and the operators in the transition from the developmental to the operational phase once on the market.

Source: Update: Leonardo flies first production standard AW609 tiltrotor