TSAMTO, June 29. Leonardo Group reported on the ceremony of the adoption of the new HH-139B helicopter by the Italian Air Force, held at the enterprise in Vergata (Italy) in the presence of Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini and Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force General Alberto Rosso.
The HH-139B is a variant of the AW-139 helicopter specially developed for the Italian Air Force, which will be used to perform a wide range of tasks, including search and rescue operations, fire fighting, and interception of low-speed objects.
The first HH-139B helicopter landed at the base of the 15th Air Wing of the 1st Special Operations Aviation Brigade (Cervia) on November 30, 2020 after its transfer by the Leonardo group three days earlier. The tasks of the 15th Air Wing include the search and rescue of aircraft and helicopter crews that crashed in peacetime (SAR-Search And Rescue), as well as the search and evacuation of survivors from enemy territory during crises and military operations (C/SAR – Combat SAR). In addition, in peacetime, the vehicles are assigned the duty of conducting civilian search and rescue operations, emergency medical evacuation, responding to natural disasters, and providing humanitarian assistance.
A total of 17 HH-139B helicopters will be delivered by the end of 2021 to equip flight groups and search and rescue centers located on the territory of Italy (Decimomannu, Trapani, Gioia del Colle and Pratica di Mare).
The new version of the HH-139B has a number of technical improvements that expand its capabilities and increase the flexibility of responding to emergency situations. In particular, the "B" version is equipped with a double winch, which increases the reliability of the system and safety during evacuation operations, as well as a control console that allows better control of on-board equipment when searching for survivors.
In addition, the maximum take-off weight of the helicopter increased from 6800 kg to 7000 kg, which allowed to increase the load capacity. The helicopter is equipped with an updated avionics package of the latest generation and on-board sensors (including an automatic ship identification system and an OPLS obstacle detection lidar, which improves the ability to identify and avoid collisions with obstacles).
The HH-139B will be used in conjunction with six HH-101A and 13 HH-139A helicopters.
