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77-546: The AgustaWestland AW119 Koala , produced by Leonardo since 2016, is an eight-seat utility helicopter powered by a single turboshaft engine produced for the civil market. Introduced as the Agusta A119 Koala prior to the Agusta-Westland merger, it is targeted at operators favoring lower running costs of a single-engine aircraft over the redundancy of a twin. The A119 designation was first applied to

154-488: A forward looking infrared (FLIR) camera. Three fuel tanks, located behind the rear seats in the cabin, are installed as standard; up to two additional optional tanks can be fitted for a total of five, providing a flight endurance of nearly six hours. Since 2009, there have been reports that final assembly of the AW119 is to be transferred to India as a part of a measure to increase sales within that market. In February 2010, it

231-878: A 3-axis aircraft flight control system (AFCS), Synthetic Vision System (SVS), Highway In The Sky (HITS) depiction, moving map display , radio altimeter , VOR / ILS / GPS / WAAS navigation, Aural Warning Generator, and embedded Helicopter Terrain Avoidance Warning System (HTAWS). A variety of equipment can be equipped, dependent on operator choice and role; these include an external hoist, dual cargo hook , dual flight controls , baggage compartment extension, snow skis, windshield wipers, rotor brake, multi-band radios , active noise reduction headsets, soundproofing , oxygen systems, loud speakers , search lights, retractable landing light, emergency floatation equipment, reinforced windshield, wire strike protection system , rappelling kit, fire fighting belly tank, and

308-596: A convertible interior to quickly adapt the rotorcraft between roles. Various third-party companies also offer adaptions and services for the type. Following the merger of Agusta and the British company Westland Helicopters to form AgustaWestland , the A109 has been rebranded as the AW109 . International involvement in the programme has also been pursued; the company has established final assembly lines at sites in both Italy and

385-584: A modified transmission design. Almost four years later, the first production helicopter was officially completed during April 1975. On 1 June 1975, the type received certification for visual flight rules (VFR) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), permitting the A109 to be operated in North America . During 1976, deliveries of production A109s commenced to civil customers. The type offered several advantages over

462-655: A number of AW109s, and may cease helicopter operations altogether. In 2001, 20 AW109s were ordered for the Swedish Armed Forces , receiving the Swedish military designation of Hkp 15 . In 2010, it was reported that considerable demands were being placed upon the AW109 fleet, in part due to the delayed delivery of the NHIndustries NH90 . In early 2015, a pair of Swedish AW109s were deployed on board

539-459: A partnership agreement was signed between Indian conglomerate Tata Sons and AgustaWestland as the foundations for a new joint venture , Indian Rotorcraft . At the time, India was viewed by helicopter manufacturers as one of the biggest potential growth markets. During March 2012, Indian Rotorcraft broke ground on a 40,000m2 new facility adjacent to Rajiv Gandhi International Airport , Hyderabad , India; The first helicopters to be manufactured by

616-571: A private company to South Sudan in violation of a European Union embargo on weapons sales. During the 1990s, the US Coast Guard , seeking to tackle drug trafficking on small speed boats via armed aerial interdiction helicopters, evaluated several options and selected the AW109 as the winner. For a number of years, eight armed AW109s, designated MH-68A Sting Ray , were leased from AgustaWestland and deployed at Coast Guard land facilities and onboard cutters . Positive experience with

693-612: A proposal to change the company name. From 1 January 2017 Finmeccanica officially became Leonardo, a name inspired by the Italian savant Leonardo da Vinci . In March 2017 the Italian Treasury proposed that the veteran banker Alessandro Profumo replace Mauro Moretti as CEO of Leonardo. In May 2017 the Board appointed Alessandro Profumo to the role. On 10 May 2023 the Board of Directors appointed Mr. Roberto Cingolani to

770-482: A proposed 11-seat stretched version of the AW109 in the 1970s; however this concept did not emerge and no such rotorcraft actually built. The helicopter that was eventually to enter production as the A119 was conceived in 1994, as Agusta was recovering from a period of financial woes that had nearly put the company out of business. In February 1995, the second of two prototypes conducted its first flight. The first prototype

847-632: A retractable wheeled tricycle undercarriage, providing greater comfort than skids and taxiing capability. For shipboard operations, the wheeled landing gear is reinforced, deck mooring points are fixed across the lower fuselage, and extensive corrosion protection is typically applied. Optional mission equipment for the AW109 has included dual controls, a rotor brake, windshield wipers, a fixed cargo hook, snow skis, external loudspeakers , wire-strike protection system, engine particle separator, engine compartment fire extinguishers, datalink , and rappelling fittings. A range of armaments can be installed upon

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924-441: A single industrial company by integrating the activities of its subsidiaries AgustaWestland , Alenia Aermacchi , DRS Technologies , Selex ES , OTO Melara and WASS . The company is organised into five divisions (Helicopters, Aircraft, Aerostructures, Electronics, Cybersecurity). It is also the parent company and corporate centre for the subsidiaries and joint ventures Telespazio , Thales Alenia Space , MBDA and ATR . Leonardo

1001-541: A time of 11 days, 7 hours and 2 minutes. The AW109S Grand is also recorded as being the fastest helicopter from New York to Los Angeles . In 2013, the Philippine Air Force (PAF) and the Philippine Navy independently ordered batches of AW109 Power rotorcraft; additional AW109s were ordered in 2014. The PAF AW109s are used as armed gunships, while both armed and unarmed AW109s are operated by

1078-465: Is a derivative of the AW109, the principal difference being that it is powered by a single engine and has a fixed undercarriage. Work on what would become the AW109 commenced during the late 1960s at the Italian helicopter manufacturer Agusta , which sought to design an indigenous rotorcraft suitable for commercial activities. Known as the A109 , early designs were of a single-engine helicopter. However,

1155-528: Is listed on the Borsa Italiana and is a constituent of the FTSE MIB and Dow Jones Sustainability Indices . As of April 2016 , the company was known by the transitional name of Leonardo-Finmeccanica, as part of the restructuring process of the company carried out by CEO Mauro Moretti from the beginning of his mandate in 2014. The company changed its name to Leonardo S.p.A. on 1 January 2017, after

1232-450: The 2010 FIFA World Cup . In July 2013, the SAAF reported that 18 AW109s had effectively been grounded due to lack of funding, these rotorcraft being only occasionally activated but not conducting flights; in 2013, only 71 flight hours were allocated to the whole AW109 fleet. The type may be reduced to flying VIPs rather than being operationally capable; South Africa is also considering selling

1309-513: The A109S Grand , was introduced. The A109 was renamed the AW109 as a consequence of the July 2000 merger of Finmeccanica and GKN plc 's respective helicopter subsidiaries Agusta and Westland Helicopters to form AgustaWestland . Since the mid-1990s, fuselages for the AW109 have been manufactured by PZL-Świdnik , which became a subsidiary company of AgustaWestland in 2010. In June 2006,

1386-695: The Damascus suburb Muadamia in May 2011, after the Syrian uprising had started, and sending engineers to Damascus in February 2012 to provide training in using the communications equipment in helicopter terminals, while the uprising continued. Finmeccanica stated that the equipment sales were legal, they occurred "before the outbreak of conflict inside Syria", and the equipment "was designed for use by emergency responders" for civilian use only. On 12 February 2013,

1463-479: The Garmin G1000 glass cockpit is integrated on the newer AW119Kx variant, which is claimed to improve situational awareness, reduce pilot workload, and increase safety. Primary flight and other key information is displayed to the pilots upon two large 10.4 inch multi-function displays in the cockpit; an independently powered stand-by display is also present in case of system failure. Other avionics used include

1540-653: The Milan Borsa Italiana stock exchange. In 1992 Finmeccanica's Agusta became a 32% partner in NHIndustries , the prime contractor for the NH90 helicopter , along with Eurocopter (62.5%) and Fokker (5.5%). In July 2000 Finmeccanica and the British GKN agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries ( Agusta and GKN-Westland Helicopters ) to form AgustaWestland . In December 2001,

1617-586: The Royal Netherlands Navy ship HNLMS Johan de Witt , their first-ever deployment on board a foreign vessel, in support of a multinational anti- piracy mission off the coast of Somalia ; the AW109 reportedly achieve a 100% availability rate over the course of three months. Between 2007 and 2012, three AW109E Power helicopters were operated under lease by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) to train naval aircrew. In May 2008,

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1694-560: The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) placed an order for five AW109LUH rotorcraft to replace their aging Bell 47 Sioux in a training capacity; they are also used in the utility role to complement the larger NHIndustries NH90 and has seen limited use in VIP missions. During August 2008, Scott Kasprowicz and Steve Sheik broke the round-the-world speed record using a factory-standard AgustaWestland AW109S Grand , with

1771-431: The hydraulics and the dual independent stability augmentation systems. The gearbox has a 30-minute dry run capability. The AW119 Koala has been used for various roles, including utility, emergency medical services (EMS), offshore, law enforcement , and executive transport. A key selling point of the type is its wide-body fuselage, which allows for up to seven passengers to be seated in a three-abreast configuration in

1848-495: The power inverters are triple-redundant. The AW109 also has reduced maintenance requirements due to an emphasis on reliability across the range of components used. Some models of the AW109 feature the "quick convertible interior", a cabin configuration designed to be flexibly re-configured to allow the rotorcraft to be quickly adapted for different roles, such as the installation or removal of mission consoles or medical stretchers. Mission-specific equipment can also be installed in

1925-526: The 100% owned companies of the core aerospace and defence business (AgustaWestland, Alenia Aermacchi, Oto Melara, Selex ES and WASS) being transformed into seven new Finmeccanica divisions. The current holding company will then become an operating company based on seven major business areas, maintaining its parent company and corporate centre function for the Group companies excluded from the model (DRS Technologies, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, MBDA and ATR). At

2002-501: The 1980s Italy's defence and aerospace industry was split into state-holding entities: EFIM  [ it ] owned the helicopters manufacturer Agusta , the defence company Oto Melara and the electronic enterprise Officine Galileo . STET (another IRI subsidiary) held Selenia , Elsag and SGS Thomson , all electronic enterprises with specializations in security and defense. In 1989, an internal IRI reorganization process brought STET electronic enterprises to Finmeccanica, and

2079-669: The 500th fuselage was delivered by the Polish aerospace company PZL-Świdnik, marking 10 years of co-operation on the AW109 between the two companies. In 2004, AgustaWestland formed a joint venture with the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation for the support and production of the AW109 in China; by 2009, the joint venture was reportedly capable of performing the final assembly of the AW109 in addition to independently manufacturing major sections, such as

2156-456: The A109 emerged, one being intended for light attack/close air support missions while the other was optimised for shipboard operations. Shortly following after the launch of the initial production model, Agusta begun work on additional models, primarily for the civil sector. During 1981, an A109A Mk2 , that featured a widened cabin, was made available to operators. In 1993, the A109 K2 model

2233-491: The A119's powerplant. The prototypes were originally fitted with Turboméca Arriel 2K1 turboshafts, however the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 B was chosen in its place. In 1998 , the prototypes were remanufactured with this engine, and assigned new serial numbers. Certification was now expected by the fourth quarter of that year, but this date slipped to July 1999 , and it was eventually December before Italian RAI certification

2310-639: The AW109 led to the Coast Guard deciding to arm all of its helicopters and, following adaptions of their existing assets, the AW109s were returned after the lease expired. In September 1999, the South African Air Force (SAAF) placed an order for 30 AW109s; 25 of the 30 rotorcraft were assembled locally by Denel Aviation , starting in 2003. As many as 16 SAAF AW109s were deployed for patrol, utility, and medical evacuation missions during

2387-516: The AW109 to be "one of the industry’s best-selling helicopters". A range of turboshaft powerplants have been used to power the numerous variants of the AW109, from the original Allison 250-C14 engines to the Turbomeca Arriel 1K1 and Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206 of more modern aircraft. Powerplants can be replaced or swapped for during airframe overhauls , resulting in increasing lifting capacity and other performance changes. In

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2464-507: The AW109, including pintle -mounted machine guns , machine gun pods , 20mm cannons , rocket pods, anti-tank missiles and air-to-air missiles. Those AW109s operated by the U.S. Coast Guard , later designated as MH-68A , had the following equipment installed: a rescue hoist, emergency floats, FLIR , Spectrolab NightSun search light, a 7.62 mm M240D machine gun and a Barrett M107 semi-automatic 12.7 mm (.50 caliber) anti-material rifle with laser sight. Various branches of

2541-505: The AW119 as a replacement for US Navy 's existing fleet of 117 Bell TH-57 (based on the Bell 206 ) trainer helicopters under a fee-for-service contract; the companies claimed that over a four-year period the AW119 fleet could be introduced at an equal or lesser cost than that of continuing to operate the aging TH-57s. Marketed by Leonardo as TH-119 , it features a Genesys Aerosystems glass cockpit . It first flew on 20 December 2018. The TH-119

2618-467: The Aeritalia-Selenia merger constituted its aerospace subsidiary Alenia . In 1992 EFIM was wound up because of its troubled financial situation; and Agusta, Oto Melara, Officine Galileo and Breda passed to Finmeccanica, which became one of the main Italian industrial groups. Finmeccanica, which was previously fully state owned by IRI, became partly privatized in 1993, when it was listed in

2695-597: The FIPB was deferred without any stated reason; allegedly, the FIPB is liaising with the Indian Ministry of Defence on the matter. The Indian government's apparent hesitancy on the issue has been alleged to be linked to the 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal . The AW119 is a single-engine multirole helicopter. AgustaWestland promote the type as possessing excellent flight qualities with high levels of controllability, maneuverability and inherent safety. The design of

2772-400: The Italian inventor Leonardo da Vinci . Società Finanziaria Meccanica, "Finmeccanica", was established in 1948 as the mechanical engineering subholding of the state-owned Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale (IRI). Finmeccanica has held for years some historic Italian enterprises, as Alfa Romeo (automobiles), Aeritalia (aerospace) and Ansaldo (engineering). From the 1960s to

2849-673: The Italian military have operated variants of the AW109; the Guardia di Finanza has operated its own variant of the AW109 since the 1980s for border patrol and customs duties, by 2010, it was in the process of replacing its original AW109s with a new-generation of AW109s. During 1982, the Argentine Army Aviation deployed three A109As to the Falkland Islands during the Falklands War . They operated with

2926-715: The Philippine Navy. During the Battle of Marawi , multiple PAF AW109s engaged in combat the ISIS-affiliated Maute Group . During November 2020, a PAF AW109 was involved in a joint operation of Armed Forces of the Philippines Joint Task Force (JTF) - Sulu against Abu Sayyaf kidnappers in northern Mindanao, firing upon a boat in conjunction with strafing fire from Philippine Navy Multipurpose Assault Craft . The AW109

3003-449: The US. Furthermore, hundreds of AW109 fuselages have been manufactured by the Polish aerospace company PZL-Świdnik since the mid-1990s. AgustaWestland formed a joint venture with the Changhe Aircraft Industries Corporation in 2004 that produces and supports the AW109, includes a final assembly line, in China. The AW109 has been in continuous production for 40 years. The AgustaWestland AW119

3080-644: The United Kingdom, Poland and the United States. Moreover, Leonardo has gained a significant presence in France and Germany, and is a partner for various international industrial collaborations. The company is an ITER supplier. In December 2021, Leonardo Electronics announced it would be building a semiconductor device fabrication facility in Oro Valley, Arizona with construction beginning in

3157-624: The aim of reducing operating costs and noise signature. According to Rotor&Wing, the type is well regarded for its "high, hot, and heavy" performance. According to AgustaWestland, the AW109 Power features various advanced avionics systems, these include a three-axis autopilot, an auto-coupled Instrument Landing System, integrated GPS , a Moving Map Display, weather radar , and a Traffic Alerting System. These systems are designed to reduce pilot workload (the AW109 can be flown under single or dual-pilot instrument flight rules (IFR)) and enable

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3234-403: The airframe, which absorb both noise and vibration, thus requiring no additional vibration absorption systems to be employed. The PT6B-37A powerplant of the AW119, located in the same area as the AW109's engines, is capable of providing high power margins along with generous speeds and endurance. According to AgustaWestland, the AW119 retains the system redundancy of dual engine helicopters, such as

3311-473: The avionics, C4ISTAR and communications businesses of the two companies. In March 2007, BAE Systems sold its 25% share to Finmeccanica for €400 million. In January 2013 the company merged with Finmeccanica's other defence electronics companies, SELEX Elsag and SELEX Sistemi Integrati , to become Selex ES . In May 2008 Finmeccanica announced its intention to purchase the U.S. defense contractor DRS Technologies for nearly $ 5.2 billion. In October 2008

3388-540: The cabin; for the EMS mission, up to two stretchers along with medical attendants and full emergency medical equipment suite can be accommodated, whereas most similar-sized helicopters can only carry one. The unobstructed cabin area and separate baggage compartment can be rapidly reconfigured to suit a range of different missions and roles. Several different cabin interiors may be adopted to accommodate different missions and operations, such as executive/VIP, EMS, and utility options;

3465-412: The case of single-engine failure, the AW109 is intended to have a generous power reserve even on a single engine. The engines drive a fully articulated four-blade rotor system. Over time, more advanced rotor blade designs have been progressively adopted for the AW109's main and tail rotors, such as composite materials being used to replace bonded metal, these improvements have typically been made with

3542-635: The chief executive, Giuseppe Orsi , was arrested on corruption charges. Prosecutors alleged that he paid bribes to ensure the sale of 12 helicopters to the Indian government, when he was head of the group's AgustaWestland unit. In July 2013, the Letta government appointed former police chief Giovanni De Gennaro as Chairman of Finmeccanica. In December 2013 Finmeccanica sold 39.55% of its share capital in Ansaldo Energia to Fondo Strategico Italiano. In

3619-683: The civil model was prioritised over the military-orientated A109B project. On 4 August 1971, the first of three prototypes made its maiden flight . On 1 June 1975, the type received certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), permitting its service entry in 1976. The A109 has been used in a wide variety of roles, including light utility, VIP transport, aeromedical , law enforcement , search and rescue (SAR), and several military roles. Dedicated military models have been produced for both land and sea operations. Several models with alternative engines, expanded fuselages, and alternative equipment fitouts have been produced. Some AW109s feature

3696-402: The cockpit can also be isolated from the cabin. The AW119 has been promoted as possessing the largest cabin in its class; the reported cabin volume is approximately 30% greater than other rotorcraft in its class. A wide range of avionics have been integrated upon the AW119, which are typically housed within the rotorcraft's nose. Initial production models featured conventional flight instruments;

3773-454: The design team came to recognise that the market found a twin-engine rotorcraft to be more attractive, thus the project was reoriented to fulfil this in 1969, opting to outfit it with a pair of Allison 250-C14 turboshaft engines. While early considerations had been made for a militarised model, which the company internally referred to as the A109B , Agusta intentionally placed a low priority on

3850-547: The end of 2014, Finmeccanica transferred its stake in BredaMenarinibus to the newco Industria Italiana Autobus (20% Finmeccanica and 80% King Long), thereby taking a further step in the Group's portfolio rationalization process. In 2015, Hitachi signed a binding agreement with Finmeccanica for Hitachi's acquisition of the AnsaldoBreda business , excluding some revamping activities and residual contracts, and of

3927-737: The entire Finmeccanica stake in the share capital of Ansaldo STS , approximately 40% of the total capital. FATA, another subsidiary of the Finmeccanica Group since 2004 that was not part of the core business, was sold in 2015 to the Gruppo Danieli, dealing in the production of steel plants. On 1 January 2016, Finmeccanica became a single integrated industrial entity, that absorbed the activities of AgustaWestland, Alenia Aermacchi, Selex ES, OTO Melara and WASS. A company rebranding operation led by Mauro Moretti began in March 2016, with

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4004-459: The externally accessible separate baggage compartment, which can be optionally expanded. Optional cabin equipment includes soundproofing , air conditioning , and bleed air heating. Aftermarket cabin configurations are offered by third parties; Pininfarina and Versace have both offered designer interiors for the AW109, while Aerolite Max Bucher has developed a lightweight emergency medical service interior. The majority of AW109s are fitted with

4081-422: The first all-Italian helicopter to be mass-produced. Its production has been continued by Agusta's successor companies, presently Leonardo (formerly AgustaWestland , merged into the new Finmeccanica since 2016). Development of the A109 commenced during the late 1960s as an indigenous rotorcraft suited to commercial operations. A twin-engine arrangement was pursued in response to market interest, while work on

4158-465: The first half of 2014, Finmeccanica's new Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Mauro Moretti started a significant process of change for the Group, both in terms of strategic choices and organizational structure. The goal was to create a more cohesive and efficient group in which all processes (research, marketing and sales, engineering, procurement, strategies and governance) are centralized and integrated and can interact each other. This encompasses

4235-524: The first half of 2022. As of March 2023, Leonardo's largest shareholder was the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finances with 30.20%. Sources: Agusta A109 The AgustaWestland AW109 , originally the Agusta A109 , is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta . It was

4312-684: The first two; all were retired in 2009. The improved AW109E and SP – GrandNew versions have also been operated by No. 32 Squadron of the Royal Air Force to transport members of the British Royal Family . In 1988, 46 A109s were sold to the Belgian Armed Forces ; it was later alleged that Agusta had given the Flemish Socialist Party over 50 million Belgian francs as a bribe to secure

4389-533: The fuselage. In February 2014, AgustaWestland announced the development of the AW109 Trekker, an updated model. It is equipped with skid landing gear (being the first twin-engine helicopter produced by the company to have this feature) and is powered by a pair of FADEC -equipped Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207C engines; its avionics are supplied by Genesys Aerospace , which have been designed for single-pilot operations. The Trekker reportedly expands upon

4466-534: The helicopter fleet (9 UH-1H, 2 CH-47C and 2 Pumas) in reconnaissance and liaison roles. One of the helicopters was destroyed on the ground by a British Harrier attack; the others were captured and sent to Europe aboard HMS Fearless . The British Army Air Corps decided to use those helicopters in domestic operations (being flown by 8 Flight AAC to support SAS regiment deployments in the UK), alongside two additional A109 which were purchased later following favorable use of

4543-582: The joint venture between AgustaWestland and Tata. In September 2014, AgustaWestland issued a legal challenge to a United States Army decision to procure the Eurocopter UH-72 Lakota as a trainer without a competition, stating that both the AW119 and the AW109 had lower acquisition and operating costs; the challenge was dismissed in December 2014. In early 2015, AgustaWestland and Bristow Helicopters jointly offered an upgraded variant of

4620-698: The joint venture is slated to be the AgustaWestland AW119 Ke; other types, such as the AgustaWestland AW101 , are likely to follow in the future. During summer 2015, it was reported that further delays to starting assembly in India were likely as the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), an Indian government agency, repeatedly deferred a pending decision. During May 2016, another pending ruling by

4697-494: The latter's price tag. According to Flight International , the AW119 is competitively priced and provides good levels of accessibility, maintainability, comfort, noise levels, and speed. The AW119 employs a four-bladed fully articulated main rotor; the composite rotor blades are designed to produce maximum lift with minimum noise, and feature tip caps to reduce noise and elastomeric bearings with no lubrication requirements. Aluminium honeycomb structural panels are used throughout

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4774-419: The missile business of Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS), a joint Finmeccanica/ BAE Systems company, was merged with other European missile manufacturers to form MBDA , which became the world's second largest missile manufacturer. In July 2003 Finmeccanica and BAE Systems announced their intention to set up three joint venture companies, to be collectively known as Eurosystems . These companies would have pooled

4851-516: The position of Chief Executive Officer and General Manager, Mr. Stefano Pontecorvo to the role of Chairman, Mr. Lorenzo Mariani to the role of Co-General Manager. Leonardo is present worldwide in about 20 countries (42% in Italy and 58% abroad). Commercially, there are about 150 countries in the world that use products, systems and services supplied by Leonardo. Its production activities and its main industrial and commercial bases are located in Italy,

4928-470: The rotorcraft is derived from Agusta's earlier and highly successful A109 helicopter, differing primarily by being equipped with a single engine (as the A109 was originally designed), a Pratt & Whitney PT6B-37A turboshaft engine, and using fixed skids in place of the A109's retractable wheeled landing gear arrangement. The AW119 shares the same cockpit and cabin of the AW109, along with commonality with various other systems, while costing roughly half of

5005-501: The sale of DRS Technologies was finalized. During 2011–2013, Finmeccanica emails were published by WikiLeaks and Finmeccanica was subject to judicial inquiries on several fronts and management changes. According to Finmeccanica emails published in the Syria Files release by WikiLeaks on 5 July 2012, Finmeccanica increased its sale of mobile communications equipment to Syrian authorities during 2011, delivering 500 of these to

5082-545: The sale. The resulting scandal led to the resignation and later conviction of NATO Secretary General Willy Claes . Belgium has operated an A109 aerial display team. In early 2013, a pair of Belgian AW109s were deployed to Sévaré , Mali , to perform medical evacuation mission in support of the French-led Operation Serval . In June 2013, Belgian newspaper La Libre Belgique alleged that several former Belgian military helicopters had been sold via

5159-450: The then- market leading Bell 206 , including its greater top speed, twin-engine redundancy, and increased seating capacity. In 1975, Agusta's design team revisited the concept of a military version; to support their work, a series of flying trials were carried out between 1976 and 1977 involving a total of five A109As that had been outfitted with Hughes Aircraft -built TOW missiles . From these endeavours, two different military versions of

5236-475: The type for its multirole capabilities and serviceability. The type has proven highly popular with VIP /corporate customers; according to AgustaWestland, 50% of all of the AW109 Power variant had been sold in such configurations. Other roles for the AW109 have included emergency medical services , law enforcement , homeland security missions, harbor pilot shuttle duty, search and rescue , maritime operations, and military uses. In 2008, AgustaWestland claimed

5313-485: The use of night vision goggles (NVG) to conduct day-or-night operations. The AW109 has a forced trim system which can be readily and selectively activated by the controlling pilot using triggers located on the cyclic and collective which hold the control inputs at the last set position if activated. All critical systems are deliberately redundant for fail-safe operations; the hydraulic system, hydraulic actuators, and electrical system are all dual-redundant, while

5390-456: The utility capabilities of the standard AW109. Akin to the prior models, the final assembly of the AW109 Trekker is undertaken at sites in both the US and Italy. The AW109 is a lightweight twin-engine helicopter, known for its speed, elegant appearance and ease of control. Since entering commercial service, several revisions and iterations have been made, frequently introducing new avionics and engine technologies. AgustaWestland have promoted

5467-403: The work for this variant in favour of other market sectors. In particular, design efforts were concentrated on the eight-seat A109C model. On 4 August 1971, the first of three prototypes performed the type's maiden flight . The A109 was subject to a protracted flight testing phase, which was largely attributable to the discovery of dynamic instability that took roughly one year to resolve via

5544-487: Was also improved. The fuselages of the AW119 are manufactured by PZL-Świdnik of Poland, later a subsidiary of AgustaWestland. Final assembly and other manufacturing activity initially took place at Vergiate , Italy ; by the time the improved AW119Ke variant began production, the final assembly line had been transferred from Vergiate to AgustaWestland's facility in Philadelphia , United States . During January 2010,

5621-554: Was announced that AgustaWestland and Tata Group were to form a joint venture to produce the AW119 in India; the first Indian-manufactured units were originally planned to commence deliveries in 2011. In October 2015, following two years of deliberation, India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board approved a proposal to locally assemble the AW119Kx in Hyderabad , Telangana ; the facility is to be operated by Indian Rotorcraft Ltd (IRL),

5698-545: Was awarded. US FAA certification was awarded in February the following year. Customer deliveries began soon thereafter, the first commercial example was delivered to Australian logistics company Linfox (serial 14007, registration VH-FOX ). In April 2007, the AW119Ke ( Ke standing for Koala Enhanced ) was formally unveiled at Heli-Expo; changes included modified rotor blade design and a higher rotor rpm, increasing both payload and hot-and-high performance, cabin flexibility

5775-565: Was introduced, which was powered by alternative engine in the form of the Turbomeca Arriel 1K1 . During 1996, the A109 Power was launched, which was broadly similar to the K2 except for the adoption of yet another powerplant, the Pratt & Whitney Canada PW206 engine. By 2008, according to AgustaWestland, the A109 Power was being operated across 46 countries. In 2006, an enlarged variant,

5852-874: Was selected as the successor of the TH-57 in January 2020, receiving the US military designation TH-73A. The US Navy expects up to 130 units to be acquired, with 32 ordered in January and an additional 36 in November 2020. In August 2021, the TH-73 was named "Thrasher" for the brown thrasher , a bird common in the southeast US; the first example of the type was delivered on August 6. Data from AgustaWestland AW119Kx brochure General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Leonardo S.p.A. On 1 January 2016, Leonardo-Finmeccanica became

5929-415: Was used for static tests. Civil certification was originally anticipated in 1997 , this deadline was missed allegedly due to multiple issues such as personnel problems, the need to concentrate resources on the development of the A109 Power, and further development to increase the aircraft's performance to meet customer expectations. By way of a solution to the latter concern, the decision was taken to change

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