AgustaWestland AW139

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The AgustaWestland AW139 is a 15-seat medium sized twin-engined helicopter manufactured by AgustaWestland. Originally designed and developed jointly by Agusta and Bell Helicopters and marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, it was redesignated the AW139 when Bell withdrew from the project. The AW149 is a medium-lift military helicopter being developed as an enlarged version of the AW139.

Design and development

The AW139 is a conventional twin-engined transport helicopter with a 5-blade fully articulated main rotor and a 4-blade tail rotor and a retractable landing gear.

The AW139 is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6C turboshaft engines. The helicopter is being marketed for use in a number of roles including Law Enforcement/Emergency Medical Service, Executive Transport, Search and Rescue, Maritime and Offshore Oil Operations.

The first AW139 flew on 3 February 2001 at Vergiate in Italy, and the first production aircraft on 24 June 2002. The first customer aircraft was delivered in 2003.

The company has orders for over 430 helicopters of which over 200 had been delivered by January 2009. It was a contender in the U.S. Army Light Utility Helicopter Program (2004–2006), but lost to the Eurocopter EC145-based UH-72A Lakota.

In 2007 a second production line at the AgustaWestland Aerospace plant in Philadelphia, United States was established.

At the......
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