For Training Use Only

AW139M Italian Multi-Role Helicopter

Domain: Air, Aircraft, Rotary Wing Aircraft, Medium Multi-role Helicopter

Proliferation: Algeria, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Estonia,
Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Malta, Nepal, Netherlands, Nigeria, Oman,
Pakistan, Panama, Qatar, Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, United
Arab Emirates, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

Origin: Italy

Notes

The AW139 is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and built by AgustaWestland, now
called Leonardo. It is marketed at several different roles, including military (AW139M), VIP/corporate transport,
offshore transport, fire fighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster
relief, and maritime patrol. In addition to AgustaWestland's manufacturing facilities in Italy and the United
States, the AW139 is produced in Russia by HeliVert, a joint venture between AgustaWestland and Russian
Helicopters.
The AW139 was originally designed and developed jointly by Agusta and Bell Helicopters and
marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, being redesignated AW139 when Bell withdrew from the project. Since
entering service in 2003, the AW139 has become one of AgustaWestland's most influential products; it has
been subsequently developed into two enlarged medium-lift helicopters, the military-orientated AW149 and the
AW189 for the civil market.
The AW139 is a conventional twin-engine multi-role helicopter. It has a five-bladed
fully articulated main rotor with a titanium hub and composite blades and a four-bladed articulated tail rotor. It

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is fitted with retractable tricycle landing gear, the two aft wheels retracting into external sponsons which are
also used to house emergency equipment. It is flown by a crew of two pilots, with up to 15 passengers
accommodated in three rows of five. The AW139 had been aimed at a vacant niche in the market, sitting
below larger types such as the Eurocopter AS332 Super Puma and Sikorsky S-92, and above smaller ones
like the Bell 412 and Eurocopter EC155. "Rotor & Wing" has described the AW139's flying attitude as 'docile
and predictable'.
The AW139 is powered by two FADEC-controlled Pratt & Whitney Canada PT6C turboshaft
engines; the FADEC system seamlessly adjusts the engines for pilot convenience and passenger comfort, and
can automatically handle a single-engine failure without noticeable deviation. It was constructed with
maintenance requirements in mind; critical systems can be readily accessed, where possible the number of
parts has been reduced, and many components have been designed for an extended lifecycle; a Health and
Usage Monitoring System (HUMS) is also equipped. More than a thousand customizable items of equipment
can be configured per customer demand, including auxiliary fuel tanks, rescue hoists, cargo hooks, search
and weather radar, ice protection systems, external cameras and searchlights, and seating arrangements.
The
AW139 features a modular glass cockpit, a commonly-installed feature being the four-axis autopilot, which
enables functions such as auto-hover capability. The cockpit has been designed to enable single-pilot flight
operations under instrument flight rules conditions, and it is also compatible with the use of night vision
goggles. Pilot training for the type is available via advanced Level D Full Flight Simulators. According to
"Shipping & Marine", the AW139 has "the largest cabin in its class"; containing up to 15 passengers or four
litters and accompanying medics, an additional baggage compartment is used to stow equipment to keep the
main cabin clear for use.
Large sections of the AW139 have been developed and produced by a range of
different companies. Airframes are typically produced by PZL-Świdnik, who delivered their 200th airframe in
April 2014. Pratt & Whitney Canada produce the type's PT6C turboshaft engines, while the primary and
secondary transmissions were developed by Westland GKN and Kawasaki Heavy Industries respectively. A
significant portion of the avionics are sourced from Honeywell. Turkish Aerospace Industries has been
subcontracted to manufacture various elements of the AW139, including the fuselage, canopy, and radome.
Final assembly of most AW139s is performed at AgustaWestland's facilities in Philadelphia, United States, and
Vergiate, Italy; those destined for customers within the Commonwealth of Independent States are typically
assembled by a third final manufacturing plant in Tomilino, Moscow operated by HeliVert.

Variants

AB139: Original Italian-built production aircraft, 54 built.

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AW139M: Militarized variant, capable of carrying various weapons payloads.

HH-139A: Italian Air Force designation for ten search-and rescue configured AW139Ms.

VH-139A: Italian Air Force designation for two VIP configured AW139s.

US139: Military variant, was the AgustaWestland proposed entry for the US Army Light Utility Helicopter
programm in partnership with L-3 Communications.

MH-139 Grey Wolf: This is a militarized variant selected by the U.S. Air Force. It can carry nine fully equipped
troops; has a top cruise speed of 135 knots and can fly at least three hours, and a minimum distance of 225
nm, without needing refueling.
The helicopter is equipped with an electro-optical/infrared sensor turret under
the nose and provisions for machine gun mounts on either side. For some operations, it may be fitted with
hoists for search-and rescue or other mission-specific gear.

AW139 (long nose configuration): Long nose variant with increased room for avionics built in Italy and the
United States.

System

Primary Function: Utility Helicopter

Crew: 2

Blades, Main Rotor: 5

Blades, Tail Rotor: 4

Number of Engines: 2

Day/Night Capable: Yes

All Weather Capable: Yes

Vertical Climb Rate: INA

Number of Hard Points: INA

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Cockpit Options: A Honeywell Primus Epic core avionics system comes in either the basic visual flight rules
(VFR), instrument flight rules (IFR) three-axis automatic flight control system (AFCS), IFR four-axis digital
AFCS or SAR versions

Passengers: 15, less if fully equipped, not to exceed 2,500kgs

Litters: ILO passengers, 6 liters with 4 medical personnel

FLIR: Yes

Dimensions

Length, Overall: 16.6

Length, Fuselage: 13.5

Width, Across Cabin: 2.3

Width, Across Sponsons: 3.2

Height: 4.9

Weight, Max Takeoff: 6,000

Main Rotor Diameter: 13.8

Load, Useful: 2,500

Load, External: 2,700

Cabin, Interior Volume: 8

Automotive

Engine Name: Pratt and Whitney Canada PT6C-67C

Engine Type: Turboshafts with FADEC (full-authority digital engine control)

Engine Power: Maximum continuous power of 1,531hp (1,142 kW)

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Cruising Range: 750km, 3 hours and 54 minutes without reserves

Speed, Maximum: 309

Speed, Average: 290

Armament

Note: The AW139M can be armed with Internal and external weapons such as general purpose machine
guns, sniper rifles, heavy machine gun pods and 70mm rocket pods, forward firing rockets and machine guns,
pintle mounted machine gun and Air-to-Surface Missile (ASM) system.
The firing of weapons is controlled by a
weapon management system equipped with head up display.

Protection

Note: The low thermal and acoustic signature improves the survivability of the AW139M helicopter. The
cockpit and cabin can be equipped with ballistic protection. The crew protection is further improved with
armored seats. The helicopter also includes ballistic-tolerant, self-sealing fuel tanks.
The onboard missile
approach warning system provides threat information to the pilot for actuating the helicopter’s
countermeasures. The Counter Measures Dispensing System (CMDS) deceives incoming missiles.

Cockpit Glass: Yes

Stealth Properties: No

Heat Signature Reduction: Yes

Add on Armor: No

NBC Protection: INA

EW: INA

EW Counter Measures/CCM: INA

Counter Measures (Chaff/Flares): Yes

IR: Low acoustic and infrared (IR) emissions

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