AgustaWestland AW149
| AW149 | |
|---|---|
| |
| AW149 at the 2015 Malta International Airshow | |
| Role | Medium-lift military helicopter |
| Manufacturer | AgustaWestland Finmeccanica Leonardo S.p.A. |
| First flight | 13 November 2009 |
| Status | In production |
| Primary users | Egyptian Navy Royal Thai Army |
| Produced | 2009-present |
| Developed from | AgustaWestland AW139 |
| Variants | AgustaWestland AW189 |
The AgustaWestland AW149 is a medium-lift military helicopter developed by AgustaWestland, now Leonardo. On 20 June 2011 AgustaWestland announced the AW189, a civilian development of the AW149, for service in 2013.[1]
Design and development
The AW149 was unveiled at the 2006 Farnborough Air Show. Derived from the AW139, the AW149 has a larger fuselage and more powerful engines, resulting in a greater cargo volume and payload carrying ability.[2] On 13 November 2009, the first prototype conducted its first flight from AgustaWestland's Vergiate manufacturing facility in northern Italy.[3] On 26 February 2011, the second prototype, the first with production model engines, made its first flight from Vergiate.[4]
AgustaWestland submitted a version of the AW149, designated TUHP149, as a candidate for the Turkish Utility Helicopter Program (TUHP) for the Turkish Armed Forces. The programme sought an initial batch of 109 helicopters worth $4 billion, prospective follow-on orders for subsequent batches may eventually rise to 300 rotorcraft.[5][6] On 21 April 2011, the Turkish defence minister announced that the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk had been selected as the winner.[7]
Military certification for the AW149 was announced by Finmeccanica at the 2014 Farnborough airshow.[8] The landing gear can sustain a touchdown with a sink speed of 9.5 m/s, compared with the 2 m/s for a civilian helicopter. The AW149 is being marketed as an alternative to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk family. Thailand has ordered 5 AW149 helicopters, and is the first export customer.[9][10] The Italian Air Force considered it as a search and rescue helicopter, but chose the lighter AW139M instead. In April 2019, Egyptian Navy ordered 20 AW149 with option for 10 more.[11]
Operators
- Royal Thai Police[12] (1 in service)
- Royal Thai Army[12] (5 ordered)
- Egyptian Navy[11][13] (20 ordered as of April 2019, with an option for 10 more.)
Specifications (AW149)
Data from [14]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: 18 max or; 12 combat laden troops or; 2,720 kg external sling load
Performance
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
- Airbus Helicopters H175
- Bell 525 Relentless
- KAI KUH-1 Surion
- NHIndustries NH90
- Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
- Harbin Z-20
- Mil Mi-17
Related lists
References
- ^ "AgustaWestland Unveils The AW189 Helicopter". AgustaWestland. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 August 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "AgustaWestland AW149 Product Brochure" (PDF). AgustaWestland. Retrieved 25 June 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "AW149 & AW159 complete first flights". Australian Aviation. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "AW149 Makes Its Public Premiere At The 2011 Paris Air Show". AgustaWestland. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ Engínsoy, Ümít (21 March 2011). "Turkish defense panel may select new copter type Tuesday". Hürriyet Daily News. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ Osbek, Tolga."Turkey to decide in June between AW149, 'T-70' Black Hawk." Flight International, 9 April 2007.
- ^ Ozbek, Tolga (21 April 2011). "Sikorsky wins Turkish utility helicopter battle". Flight Global. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Military certification for the AW149" Archived 1 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine Leonardo, July 2014.
- ^ Sompong Nondhasa."Thai Army puts faith in Leonardo" Shephard Media, 18 December 2016.
- ^ "Royal Thai Army buys AW149 and six AW139s". Jeremy Parkin. Helihub. 9 December 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
- ^ a b Cabirol, Michel (25 April 2019). "Armement : mais qu'est-ce qui se passe entre la France et l'Egypte". La Tribune (in French). Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ a b "World Air Forces 2018". Flightglobal Insight. 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
- ^ Perry, Dominic (25 April 2019). "AW149 helicopter nets crucial export order from Egypt". Flight Global. London. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
- ^ "AW149". Italy. Archived from the original on 4 November 2011. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
External links
