The Leonardo AW119 soon will be back on patrol over New York City. The company last week delivered an AW119Kx large single to New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection Police at the APSCON convention in Louisville. The new helicopter will be used to patrol and protect New York’s extensive municipal water system to prevent terrorism, pollution, and crime.
The helicopter is equipped with searchlight, forward looking infrared (FLIR), external loudspeakers, rappelling and cargo hooks, an expanded fuel system with a provision for a Bambi bucket for firefighting, foldable stretcher, and high-visibility crew doors on both sides of the aircraft.
The main New York Police Department operated a fleet of four AW119s between 2004 and 2015 but replaced them with Bell 429s.
More than 300 AW119 series aircraft have been ordered by over 120 customers in 40 countries. The AW119Kx can be configured for a variety of roles including law enforcement, utility, firefighting, EMS, passenger transport, military, and flight training. The helicopter features the Garmin G1000H glass-panel avionics system and is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6B-37A (1002 shp).