AW119 Koala

The AW119 is a single engine helicopter which is proving its abilities in the law enforcement and fire-fighting roles in many countries. By 2012 over 200 AW119 helicopters had been ordered in more than 30 countries by around 100 customers. The AW119 is suited to perform a wide range of tasks including utility, fire-fighting, EMS, VIP/corporate transport, offshore transport, law enforcement and military duties.

The AW119 Ke (Koala enhanced), an evolution of the successful A119 Koala, is a spacious top of the range single turbine helicopter developed to enhanced safety levels and providing high productivity and performance at a competitive price. The large unobstructed cabin permits rapid reconfiguration for a variety of utility and military applications. The versatility and high power margins of the helicopter deliver outstanding performance in a wide range of operating conditions that make it a very cost-effective helicopter for many applications. When operational demands call for a single turbine powered helicopter, no other aircraft can match the cost effectiveness and superior performance of the AW119 Ke.

The AW119 Ke has been designed to satisfy the multi-role requirements demanded in military operations. This configuration has much in common with the AW109 Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and has the same large multi-mission capable cabin. The quick role change interior of the AW119 Ke permits the rapid conversion of the cabin from troop transport to casualty evacuation configuration. The separate baggage compartment facilitates the storage of the litters when not being used. The AW119 Ke offers medical attendants the option of sitting between the two litters thus allowing access to the whole patients’ body.

Indian Rotorcraft announced that a ground breaking ceremony was held 14 March 2012 at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, marking the start of construction of a new helicopter production facility and a new step in the development of the Indian aerospace industry. The ground breaking ceremony was conducted in the presence of Mr. Ratan N Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons; Mr. Bruno Spagnolini, CEO, AgustaWestland and other dignitaries. Indian Rotorcraft is a joint venture company formed by Tata Sons and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, that will assemble, customise and flight test new helicopters for the worldwide market. The joint venture will initially start to produce the 8-seat AW119Ke light helicopter, with production commencing from mid-2013.

Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, said at the ceremony “The project is integral to our plans in the aerospace sector and we look forward to an enduring and successful partnership with AgustaWestland for fostering the growth of the Indian aerospace sector.” Mr. Bruno Spagnolini, CEO of AgustaWestland added “We are very pleased through our joint venture with Tata Sons to be playing an important role in the development of the Indian aerospace industry. Not only will this new facility be able to build helicopters for the Indian market but importantly it will supply helicopters to AgustaWestland customers around the world.” He added “Indian Rotorcraft will initially create jobs for more than 70 highly skilled staff who will be trained by AgustaWestland. We see great potential to expand this facility in the future to become a support centre and production centre for other helicopter types.”

AgustaWestland has been present in India since the 1930s when the Westland Wapiti was the very first aircraft flown by the Indian Air Force, and then over 40 years ago AgustaWestland commenced the supply and support of the Indian Navy’s Sea King fleet. More recently it has achieved significant success with its commercial helicopter range for VIP and corporate transport, offshore oil and gas support and general charter operations. Nearly 50 AgustaWestland commercial helicopters have been sold in India in the last six years including almost 20 AW139 medium twins.

The Tata Group comprises over 100 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The Group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents, and its companies export products and services to 85 countries. The total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $83.3 billion (around Rs3,796.75 billion) in 2010-11, with 58 per cent of this coming from business outside India. Tata companies employ over 425,000 people worldwide. Every Tata company or enterprise operates independently. Each of these companies has its own board of directors and shareholders, to whom it is answerable. There are 31 publicly listed Tata enterprises and they have a combined market capitalization of about $89.29 billion (as on March 7, 2012), and a shareholder base of 3.6 million. The major Tata companies are Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Tata Teleservices, Titan, Tata Communications and Indian Hotels.

TH-119

Leonardo-Finmeccanica presented 16 May 2016 the Salon Navy League Sea-Air Space Exhibition (Washington DC, May 16 to 18), the variant of its single-engine helicopter AgustaWestand AW119, called TH-119, specifically dedicated to the tasks of training for military customers first among all the US Navy. The new version features capabilities and distinctive features compared to the commercial model AW119Kx while keeping its advantages in terms of certification and operational maturity. The TH-119, as the civilian version, continued to be produced in the factory in Philadelphia.

Characterized by high safety standards, thanks to the redundancy of the main systems of typical AW119, the TH-119 also features new instruments ideal for training both to visual flight (VFR Visual Flight Rules) and with instrument flight rules (IFR Instrument Flight Rules) produced by Genesys Aerospace. The aircraft is configured so as the best solution on the market for training in adverse weather conditions and reduced visibility.

Among the other benefits of TH-119 compared to competing products:

• instructor in the cabin allowing excellent visibility of the instrumentation
• Cockpit and cabin compatible with night-vision systems and appropriate care of outward visibility, thanks to the design of doors and instrumentation.
• Shoes reinforced allowing frequent landings required at different stages of training.
• Ability to install hook for external loads and winch, for advanced training activities at the mission.
• Possibility of additional fuel tanks for extended range of flight to five hours and fast fuel even with the engine running.

The TH-119 is a solution for the US Navy, called to renew its own helicopter training capacity in the future to meet new operational challenges.