![The sights of Avalon Air Show 2025: Day Three [PHOTOS]](https://breakingdefense.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2025/03/f-35-avalon-final-day-scaled-e1743079275404.jpg?#)
Portugal opens talks with Leonardo over AW101 helicopter midlife upgrade
“The Danish are looking to [the] possibility” of an upgrade. “Canadians are all in [on] that process already … So the idea is to have a similar approach … in order to bring value to the [Portuguese] Air Force,” Maj. Gen. Joao Nogueira, director of weapon systems maintenance directorate at the Portuguese Air Force told Breaking Defense.
A Portuguese Air Force AW101 search and rescue helicopter midlife upgrade is planned around improved avionics and sensors (Getty Images)
LISBON — Portugal is pushing ahead with plans for an AW101 search-and-rescue (SAR) helicopter midlife upgrade, and has launched discussions with Italy’s Leonardo to assess a suitable way forward.
“We are debating that topic [of a midlife upgrade] with Leonardo to see what are the options for sure,” Maj. Gen. Joao Nogueira, director of weapon systems maintenance directorate at the Portuguese Air Force told Breaking Defense and other media, as part of an Embraer press trip on Wednesday. (Like other outlets Breaking Defense accepted travel and accommodations from the manufacturer for the trip.)
“We are talking more about avionics and sensors,” not France’s Safran RTM322 engines, which power the rotorcraft, said Nogueira. He stressed that there are “no issues” with the powerplant, but that the planned upgrade is necessary as the AW101 has been in service for almost two decades.
“These programs take time to define and implement and it’s something that we are looking at this moment, to take some decisions,” he added.
“The Danish are looking to [the] possibility” of an upgrade. “Canadians are all in [on] that process already … So the idea is to have a similar approach … in order to bring value to the [Portuguese] Air Force.”
Leonardo did not respond to a request for comment about the Portuguese upgrade plan as of press time, but company literature claims that for both Portugal and Canada, the 16-tonne class helicopter “has demonstrated excellent performance” when carrying out SAR and combat SAR operations “even under conditions so extreme that no other helicopter could carry them out.”
Half of Portugal’s fleet of 12 AW101 helicopters are reserved for SAR operations, with others used for combat SAR and fishery protection, according to Leonardo.
Talking about the decision to commit to an upgrade, as opposed to potentially kickstarting a replacement acquisition, Nogueira said that despite “alternative” aircraft being available, they don’t go “so [much] further in terms of range.”
