Under the contract, Israel’s Defence Ministry will purchase a “training package” from Italian defence contractor Leonardo.The package includes a total of 12 AW119KX training helicopters and two simulators for the Air Force Flight School.

Helicopters will replace the “Pagen” (Bell 206) platforms, which have been in service since the 1970s. The Italian Ministry of Defence will buy spike launchers and missiles from Rafael.

The new agreement is a continuation of the 2011 agreement between the Israeli and Italian governments, in which the Israeli Defence Ministry purchased 30 training aircraft in exchange for one observation satellite and two airborne early warning systems.