Phoenix: Italy's new AW249 attack helicopter that has risen from no ashes

The Italian armed forces are due to receive the Fenice, the first Western attack helicopter to take flight in recent years that's been designed from scratch.

The AW249 Fenice, which means Phoenix, is the next-generation aircraft for the Italian army, and bears an uncanny resemblance to the AH-64 Apache..

According to the helicopter's developer, Leonardo, "the AW249 is tailored to the future battlespace and is fully equipped to provide advanced net-centric capabilities for multi-domain operations".

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The Fenice has a maximum cruise speed of 155 knots, a range of 430 nautical miles, a flight ceiling of 20,000ft and a climb rate of 2,350ft per minute.

The helicopter has a maximum take-off weight of 8.3 tonnes and can perform tasks such as aerial escort, close air support and air interdiction.

Fenice is also equipped with unguided 70mm rockets, air-to-air infrared-guided missiles and a 20mm gimballed gun.

Designed to be interoperable with air and ground forces, the AW249 uses uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), and fuses open systems architecture with growth capabilities, state-of-the-art communications and a battlespace management system.

Four prototypes of the helicopter are currently being tested, with the Italian army expected to receive its first combat helicopters by 2027.