Leonardo today announced a further expansion of its AW139 twin-engine helicopter fleet in Australia with an order for two units from major helicopter operator, Toll Helicopters (Toll). The aircraft will complement a fleet of three AW139s currently used for various activities including pilot and crew training, utility during Australian Armed Forces exercises, civil defence. The two helicopters will be delivered from Leonardo's final assembly line in Vergiate, Italy, in the second half of 2023 and will bring Toll's AW139 fleet to a total of 12 aircraft.
The two recently purchased AW139s will support Toll and the Armed Forces in two separate operational programmes, in Darwin and Townsville. These aircraft are equipped with a searchlight, winch, barycentric hook and provisions for electro-optical equipment, to support a variety of training and civil defense missions.
The AW139 has been sold by Leonardo in various states of the country for multiple roles including public order, patrol and surveillance, search and rescue missions at sea. This helicopter is ideal for such missions due to its capacity, reliability and safety. A fleet of over 60 units now carries out all these missions in Australia, in addition to support services to the energy and transport sector.
With more than 1130 helicopters in service, over 280 customers in nearly 90 countries and more than 3,6 million flight hours logged to date since its certification in 2004, the AW139 has proven highly effective for military operators worldwide , in a broad range of roles including search and rescue, medical rescue, special operations, homeland security, impaired aircraft intercept, advanced training, utility and transport. The AW139 offers unrivaled capability, technology and safety to meet the most demanding operator requirements for carrying out missions in difficult conditions with maximum effectiveness. This model features state-of-the-art avionics with advanced navigation and anti-collision systems to increase operational awareness and reduce pilot workload. It is unrivaled in speed, power margins and overall performance and features the largest cab in its class with high modularity for rapid reconfiguration, plus the transmission's unique ability to continue operating smoothly for over 60 minutes even in the absence of lubricant for even greater reliability and safety. Over 1000 mission kits have been certified for the AW139 to date.
Toll Helicopters, headquartered in Brisbane, is a provider of mission-critical and training helicopter services to the government, defense and civilian sectors, with particular expertise in emergency medical services, search and rescue operations, law enforcement, training and logistical support. Toll is a Leonardo authorized training center, equipped with the only AW139 Full Flight flight simulator approved by the manufacturer in Oceania.
