Leonardo announced today that Latvia's Border Police has signed a contract to purchase two AW119Kx single-engine helicopters with a dedicated configuration, an option for additional units and training services for crews and maintenance technicians. The AW119Kx will be delivered by the Leonardo plant in Philadelphia in the 2019 and will perform a wide range of missions including search and rescue, transport, fire and civil protection replacing two obsolete AB206B JetRanger.
The new helicopters are added to the two AW109 Power by Leonardo already successfully employed by the Border Police in the last ten years. The AW119Kx was chosen after a careful evaluation of various competing models, as part of the program of modernization of the helicopter fleet of the Ministry of the Interior, proving the best solution to meet the requirements of the tender and also confirming the level of satisfaction of the customer towards Leonardo's products for these roles. The combination of AW109 Power and AW119Kx will enhance the capabilities and versatility of the Border Police for operations even in extreme weather conditions, day and night.
The AW119Kx is the best single-engine helicopter in its weight category, with state of the art avionics to allow the crew to maintain maximum concentration in the mission, as well as high operational efficiency and safety. The AW119Kx has a large cab, able to accommodate up to six passengers, and the redundancy of all the main systems, the latter characteristic of twin-engine helicopters to guarantee an even higher level of safety.
About 300 AW119 helicopters have been ordered to date in almost 40 countries from over 120 customers. The new AW119Kx is ideal for carrying out various tasks such as public order, eliambulance, utility, fire fighting, VIP / Corporate transport, training and government applications. Several police forces have chosen AW119 in various countries including the USA, China, South Korea, Finland and Brazil to name a few.
