Leonardo has signed a $50.8 million deal to provide three new AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopters to the Italian National Fire Corps (part of the Italian Ministry of Interior) with options for 12 additional aircraft. The contract includes support and training for pilots and technicians. Deliveries will be completed in 2019.
The helicopters will be equipped with external rescue hoists, cargo hooks with bambi bucket provision, weather radar, multi-band and satellite communication systems, high-definition Forward-looking Infrared/Low Light TV (FLIR/LLTV) systems, Leonardo’s high-definition mission consoles with digital recorders, high-definition downlinks, Leonardo’s Optical Proximity LiDAR Systems (OPLS), night-vision goggle (NVG) capability, new-generation Trakka searchlights, emergency flotation systems and external life rafts, external loudspeakers, medical racks and bubble windows.
The helicopters will also be capable of maritime and mountain search and rescue, EMS transport, and disaster relief/civil protection missions. To date, the Italian government has ordered 56 AW139s.
Leonardo also announced that in the U.S., the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) is adding a fifth AW139 to its fleet. The multi-role LAFD AW139s were introduced in 2008 and to date, the department's fleet has accumulated 7,000 hours and flies on 700 incidents annually. More than 1,100 AW139s have been ordered worldwide.