LAFD Fire Helicopter Arrival The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Anglo-Italian helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland, now part of Leonardo. It is marketed at several different roles, including VIP/corporate transport, military use, offshore transport, firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief, and maritime patrol.[2]
The AW139 was designed jointly by the Italian helicopter manufacturer Agusta and the American company Bell Helicopters. It was marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, but was redesignated as the AW139 after Bell withdrew from the project. In addition to AgustaWestland's manufacturing facilities in Italy and the United States, other companies are involved in the programme, such as the Polish manufacturer PZL-Świdnik, which has produced hundreds of AW139 airframes, and HeliVert, a joint venture between AgustaWestland and Russian Helicopters, which has established a production line inside Russia for the type. Having performed its maiden flight on 3 February 2001, the AW139 entered revenue service in 2003 and quickly proved itself to be a commercial success.
Many AW139 customers have been in the civilian sector. Large fleets have been obtained by operators such as CHC Helicopter, Gulf Helicopters, and Weststar Aviation. Its performance has enabled it to become popular amongst operators supporting the offshore oil and gas industry. A dedicated militarised model, the AW139M, was developed by AgustaWestland. It was first procured by the Italian Air Force. Other military operators include the United States Air Force, which operates the MH-139 Grey Wolf model. The Japanese business Mitsui Bussan Aerospace has obtained an exclusive distribution agreement for the AW139 in Japan. Over 1,100 rotorcraft had been sold by January 2021.[1] The AW139 has been developed into the AW149, an enlarged medium-lift military orientated rotorcraft.[3]