The Leonardo-Finmeccanica AgustaWestland AW169 helicopter consolidates the presence in the fleet of operators who have already had the opportunity to test their operational excellence and lands for the first time in South Korea. Leonardo in fact signed a contract with Helikorea for two units destined for to carry out helicopter rescue missions in South Korea, a country in which Leonardo boasts an important presence with about 50 aircraft in service or delivered for civil and military use such as naval operations, search and rescue, public order, fire prevention and executive transport / private. The contract provides for the delivery of the specimens by the end of the 2016 and includes the option for an additional AW169.
Leonardo also announced today that the Irish-based company Lease Corporation International (LCI) has signed a contract for a further three AW169 at the Helitech show in Amsterdam, which is scheduled for delivery midway through the 2017. This is the second order by LCI for this model: the three units are added to the five already received by LCI this year, subsequently transferred to different operators and employed for helicopter rescue, offshore transport and utility tasks. Additional ten helicopters of the AW139 / AW169 / AW189 models will be delivered to LCI by the end of the 2016.
Also at the Helitech show, Leonardo announced the signing of a framework agreement with the British operator Specialist Aviation Services (SAS) for six further AW169. The aircraft, whose deliveries are scheduled between the 2017 and the 2019, will allow SAS to expand its presence in helicopter rescue in the United Kingdom and to enter the offshore market in support of wind power plants. Thanks to this framework agreement, the total number of helicopters for customers in the UK rises to almost twenty.
