HH-139B, here is Leonardo’s first helicopter for the Air Force
Leonardo delivers the first HH-139B to the Air Force, the customized variant of the AW139, equipped with new equipment and configuration. All the details
Leonardo today delivered the first HH-139B twin-engine helicopter for the Italian Air Force, a customized variant of the bestseller AW139. This was announced by a press release from the company in Piazza Monte Grappa specifying that this is the first of the 17 HH-139s planned, delivered by the Leonardo plant in Vergiate.
The Air Force announces that the 1st HH-139B helicopter will be used with the HH-101A and HH-139A helicopters to strengthen multi-role capabilities and support the response to the country's security needs.
Just a year ago, Parliament gave the green light to the acquisition of 17 Leonardo HH-139 helicopters for the Air Force.
Deliveries of all machines will be completed by 2021.
All the details.
THE USE OF THE HELICOPTER IN THE AIR FORCE
The helicopter will be used by the 15th Wing of the Am, a department that carries out search and rescue tasks as well as cooperation and intervention in favor of the civilian population in the event of a disaster.
The HH-139Bs will be used for a wide range of missions such as Search and Rescue, Fire Fighting, Slow Mover Intercept, joining the current fleet of 13 multirole HH-139As and 4 VH-139As, these the latter used for government transport missions.
WHERE THE 17 HH-139B HELICOPTERS WILL BE DISPLACED
The delivery of the helicopters will end in 2021 and will see the delivery of 17 "B" version units to the Flight Groups of Cervia and to the SAR (Search and Rescue) Centers located throughout the country (80 ° C SAR Center of Decimomannu, 82 ° C Center SAR of Trapani, the 84th C SAR Center of Gioia del Colle and the 85th C SAR Center of Pratica di Mare).
The helicopters will therefore be distributed on different bases in order to guarantee the highest level of response and effectiveness.
THE HH-139 HELICOPTER
It is a medium-sized helicopter, 2 turbines, a capacity of 15 seats and is equipped with avionics, radio and satellite communication, navigation and automatic control systems.
It is a versatile vehicle capable of quickly changing its internal configuration, passing from that for air rescue to that for emergency medical assistance or for passenger transport.
As we said, the Hh-139 is the customized variant of the AW 139 for the Air Force. The latter, which has been on the line for several years, was originally developed by the national industry (Agusta Westland), together with the American industry ( Bell). Subsequently, the program was entirely acquired by the national industry (helicopter division of Leonardo LHD).
( Here the in-depth analysis by Start on the helicopter sector of the former Finmeccanica ).
THE VARIANT B
Compared to the HH-139A, the variant with a maximum take-off weight of 7 tons HH-139B features, among other specific features, a new electro-optical system, new radar, new recovery winch and an in-cabin mission console. The basic avionics will be the most up-to-date, allowing for even more advanced navigation capabilities and even greater safety in all weather conditions.
Each machine can be quickly reconfigured from rescue / health care tasks to fire fighting.
THE APPROVAL OF THE HELICOPTER PROGRAM IN 2019
On November 21, the Senate Defense Commission, after the favorable opinion of the joint Defense Commission of the Chamber, expressed a positive opinion on the acquisition of 17 Leonardo LHD HH-139 helicopters for the Air Force.
With reference to the aims of the program, the Defense Staff, in the form attached to the request for parliamentary opinion, reports that the purchase of the new helicopters is intended to fill a capacitive deficit created following the radiation, which occurred in 2014, of the HH helicopters -3F and sharpened in recent years with the progressive aging of the HH-212 line.
The sheet also specified that the number of machines at the time (13 helicopters) was insufficient to ensure the necessary coverage of the search and rescue activity on the national territory and that the costs of the program also include the costs related to integrated logistic support. for 10 years.
THE COSTS OF THE PROGRAM
The program was included in the Multiannual Defense Policy Paper 2019-2021 . The financial burden is equal to 765.8 million euros, based on the resources allocated by three laws: law no. 232 of 2016 (2017 budget law, article 1, paragraph 140); the law n. 205 of 2017 (2018 budget law, article 1, paragraph 1072); and the law n. 145 of 2018 (2019 budget law, article 1, paragraph 95). The total amount of the charge is divided into two tranches, which overlap over five years (from 2023 to 2027). In particular, the amount of the first tranche is equal to 512.07 million euros from 2019 to 2027 and is charged to the resources of the Fund referred to in Article 1, paragraph 140 of the 2017 Budget Law and of the Fund referred to in Article 1, paragraph 1072 of the 2018 budget law. The amount of the second tranche, equal to 253.73 million euros from 2023 to 2033, is charged to the funds referred to in Article 1, paragraph 95 of the 2019 budget law.
THE SUCCESS OF THE AW139
As the Leonardo group points out, the Air Force's HH-139B program brings the total number of AW139s chosen by government operators to almost 80. In Italy, the AW139 was in fact selected by the Guardia di Finanza, the State Police, the Coast Guard, the Fire Brigade and the Carabinieri, as well as by various emergency medical service operators.
THE ROLE OF AW139 DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC
During the pandemic, the AW139s confirmed their rescue capacity, being widely used in Italy for the transport of patients on stretchers in biocontainment.
THE MOST SUCCESSFUL HELICOPTER PROGRAM
Nearly 1100 AW139s are currently in service in more than 70 countries for each type of mission with more than 2.9 million flight hours accumulated to date. Therefore, the AW139 is confirmed as the most successful helicopter program for Leonardo.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/leonardo-consegna-il-primo-elicottero-hh-139b-aeronautica/ on Thu, 03 Dec 2020 14:44:57 +0000.