AgustaWestland AW139

The AgustaWestland AW139, now known as the Leonardo AW139, is a 15-seat medium-sized twin-engined helicopter developed and produced by the Italian manufacturer AgustaWestland. It was designed jointly by Agusta and the American company Bell Helicopter and first marketed as the Agusta-Bell AB139, taking the AW139 designation after Bell withdrew from the project. Bristow Helicopters placed the first order in September 2000, and the first preproduction helicopter flew on 3 February 2001 at Vergiate in Italy. The type is sold for VIP and corporate transport, military use, offshore transport, firefighting, law enforcement, search and rescue, emergency medical service, disaster relief and maritime patrol. Other companies share in the programme, including the Polish manufacturer PZL-Swidnik, which has built hundreds of airframes, and in 2010 AgustaWestland and Rostvertol announced a plant at Tomilino near Moscow to assemble the helicopter in Russia.