Qatar takes delivery of first military AW139

The first aircraft was handed over at an official ceremony at AgustaWestland’s Vergiate plant in Italy, in the presence of Qatar Armed Forces Chief of Staff General Hamad Bin Ali Al Attiyah and Qatar Emiri Air Force Chief of Staff General Mubarak Al-Khayarin.

The aircraft will be operated by the Qatar Emiri Air Force supporting various government agencies to perform a range of roles including utility, troop transport, search and rescue, border patrol, special forces operations, law enforcement and homeland security.

The contract for the 18 units was signed in August 2008. The contract includes crew training and an initial spares package.  

AgustaWestland chief executive Giuseppe Orsi, said “It gives us great pleasure to celebrate the handover ahead of the planned delivery schedule. The military configured AW139 has been developed to meet the Qatar Armed Forces’ demanding requirements and I am confident it will exceed their operational expectations in service.”

Designed to be easily and quickly converted between roles, the AW139 can manage both military and public security applications. Its cabin can be configured to carry 8 to 15 troops and large sliding cabin doors allow both troops and equipment to be loaded and unloaded easily and quickly.

It features a maximum cruise speed of 165 knots (306 km/h) and a maximum range in excess of 570 nm (1060 km) with auxiliary fuel. The aircraft has outstanding one engine inoperative capabilities even in the hot and high environmental conditions of the Qatari desert. The advanced integrated cockpit with state-of-the-art technology minimises pilot workload allowing the crew to concentrate on mission objectives. For military missions the AW139 features dedicated equipment to meet a range of general and specialist roles. Around 440 orders have been placed by over 120 customers from almost 50 countries to date,