Helikopter - AW189 til Vietnam

Thursday, December 11, 2014

AgustaWestland Airframes Delivered to Europe and Asia

AgustaWestland is under contract to deliver four new helicopters to customers in Italy, Vietnam and Japan.

The first helicopter, an AW169, is scheduled for delivery in the middle of 2015 to the Italian transport company HoverFly Srl. The helicopter will perform passenger transport missions from the company’s base near Rome. The new AW169 will replace HoverFly’s aging AS365, providing greater mission capability and the latest safety features. This contract marks the entrance of the new AW169 into the Italian passenger transport market.

Two AW189 helicopters are also scheduled for delivery to Vietnam Helicopter Corporation (VNH), in 2015 and 2016, respectively, where they will perform medium/long range offshore transport missions. VNH selected the AW189 model from other potential types following a rigorous assessment that began in 2013 and included test flight evaluations. This contract marks the entrance of AgustaWestland into the Vietnamese helicopter market and further expands the success of the AW189 in South East Asia for offshore transport duties. 

Both the Italian and Vietnamese contracts also include comprehensive training and support service packages.

A fourth helicopter, an AW139, has been selected by the Japan’s Iwate Prefecture Firefighting and Disaster Relief Agency to replace its current model. Scheduled for delivery at the beginning of 2016, the AW139 will use a belly tank or Bambi bucket to attack fires, and will be equipped with a searchlight, cargo hook, rescue hoist, external loudspeakers and snow skids. Japan already owns 38 AW139s for public utility roles including Search and rescue, coast guard duties, law enforcement, firefighting and disaster relief.