Leonardo has been contracted to supply additional AgustaWestland AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopters to the Government of Pakistan.
The contract for additional AW139s will allow Pakistan to strengthen its helicopter fleet.
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The aircraft will be used for utility, search and rescue (SAR) and emergency medical service (EMS) operations across the nation.
Deliveries under the contract will begin early next year.
Leonardo said that the 'contract is a further step towards the completion of fleet renewal programmes spread over several batches plus logistic support and training'.
The Pakistan Government currently uses the current fleet of AW139 for relief and transport duties.
To date, more than 1,000 units of AW139 have been sold to more than 250 customers in over 70 nations and nearly 900 units are in service.
The AW139 aircraft is equipped with a Honeywell Primus Epic fully integrated avionics system and four-axis digital automatic flight control system (AFCS) with auto-hover and full digital electronic engine control (FADEC) to minimise pilot workload.
The aircraft can accommodate a crew of one or two pilots with 15 passengers.
Powered by Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6 engines with FADEC, the AW139 can be operated in any weather during day and night.
The aircraft, which also features energy-absorbing landing gear and fuselage, has a cruise speed of 165k.
Image: Militarised version of the AW139. Photo: courtesy of Leonardo – Società per azioni.
