AgustaWestland Signs Support Contract for South Africa's AW109LUH Fleet

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce the signing of a comprehensive service support contract for the South African Air Force’s fleet of AW109LUH helicopters. The annual contract includes the provision for it to be extended for up to 5 years.

Under the contract AgustaWestland will be responsible for the delivery and provision of spares, support equipment, D-Level maintenance as well as component repair and overhaul services. AgustaWestland will also provide an on-site support team, technical support services, training and technical publication updates under the comprehensive support contract.

Patrick Chabrat, Head of Regional Sales, AgustaWestland, said “This wide ranging support contract will maximise aircraft availability whilst providing through life support cost savings to the customer. The AW109LUH has proven itself to be an ideal multi-role helicopter for the South African Air Force and this contract will enhance the availability of the aircraft to perform the wide range of tasks it is assigned.”

AgustaWestland is a world leader in the provision of integrated support services for military helicopter fleets where operators want to leverage on AgustaWestland’s experience to reduce the costs of through life support whilst increasing aircraft availability. In the UK AgustaWestland’s award winning Integrated Operational Support (IOS) programmes are support the Ministry of Defence’s fleets of Sea King, AW101, Apache and AW159 helicopters.

The South African Air Force purchased 30 AW109 LUH helicopters and it has now become the world's best selling military light-twin helicopter, with orders for over 100 helicopters placed by customers around the world. The AW109 LUH is able to satisfy a wide range of land-based as well as sea-based requirements. The AW109 LUH offers state-of-the-art mission-dedicated technology and equipment enhancing operational effectiveness while reducing pilot workload, together with unmatched performance, reliability, availability, serviceability and safety standards.

The South African Air Force aircraft feature an ergonomic cockpit with three 6” x 8” flat screen digital displays which are Night Vision Goggle (NVG) compatible. The aircraft can be flow single-pilot IFR/IMC and is highly manoeuvrable and has a maximum cruise speed of 283 km/h (153 knots).

Operators use their AW109 LUHs in the most varied and demanding weather and environmental conditions, from the arctic to the tropics, to perform many roles including advanced training, troop transport, medical evacuation, search and rescue, maritime patrol, observation, armed escort and anti-armour. The AW109 LUH is operated by the armed forces of several nations including Sweden, South Africa, New Zealand and Malaysia.

Source : AgustaWestland, A Finmeccanica Company