A trio of Leonardo AW139s flying for the Victoria, Australia police has amassed 10,000 hours in the last three years, making them the most heavily used of the 149 AW139s tasked to law enforcement worldwide. Collectively, the Victoria police helicopters flew 1.1 million nm, were dispatched 30,000 times, assisted in 3,000 arrests, and completed 60 winching tasks. The aircraft are fitted with infrared cameras, mapping systems, and object-detecting software, among others.
StarFlight Victoria, which was started by Australia's LifeFlight and the Linfox Group, delivered the helicopters to the police and support their operation. Over the three-year initial deployment period, StarFlight provided 50,000 hours of maintenance for the fleet on a 24/7 basis with services and materials that included 34 heavy inspections, eight modifications, 50 main landing gear tire changes, and 288 gallons of engine and gearbox oil.
"The contribution these helicopters, and the support teams behind them, make to the Victoria Air Wing’s capabilities is incredibly significant,” said StarFlight Victoria director Ashley van de Velde. “This milestone reflects the collective effort from Victoria Police and StarFlight.”
More than 1,100 AW139s have been delivered worldwide since the helicopter was certified in 2004.