Why the Middle East is AW-struck

The part that the Middle East has played in the rapid expansion of AgustaWestland’s global helicopter fleet cannot be overstated. The company’s flagship product, the AW139, has racked up more than 400 deliveries worldwide and almost a quarter of these are operating in the Middle East in a variety of applications.

The company now has around 130 helicopters flying with Middle East customers and has developed a particularly strong customer-base in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Out of this 130-strong fleet, more than 90 are AW139s and half of these are based in the UAE.

While global economic turbulence has buffeted every sector of the aerospace market, the Middle East has remained a stable and increasingly influential market for AgustaWestland. “This region is very important to us for a number of reasons,” said senior vice president, marketing Roberto Garavaglia.

“In the civil market, the oil and gas sector continues to be the engine of market growth. There is a strong VIP market in this part of the world with lots of people who need access to fast transportation and we have also had a lot of success with both government and military customers in the region.

“In terms of the state of the market, the fact that the oil price has remained at a sustained high level in relative terms over the past few years has meant a more stable environment for sales opportunities.”

While AgustaWestland has sold helicopters to most countries in the region, it is now focusing its attention beyond sales growth and into establishing greater in-country presence, particularly in terms of customer support and training activities.

Abu Dhabi Aviation, which operates a fleet of 20 AW139s mainly for offshore missions, has been an AgustaWestland service centre since 2005 and in 2009 the two companies reached agreement to set up a joint venture in the UAE to operate in the field of maintenance and training for helicopters.

It is no surprise that the offshore sector remains the single most important application for AgustaWestland in the region. In addition to Abu Dhabi Aviation, the AW139 is also in service with most of the major operators, including Saudi Aramco and Gulf Helicopters in Qatar, which has a total of 17 aircraft on order, the majority of which have already been delivered.

Such has been the success of the AW139 in the offshore sector, this is now the single largest application for the type, accounting for approximately a third of total sales. AgustaWestland points to the aircraft’s performance, safety characteristics and also its ability to operate with very few limitations in temperatures of 50^o C, making it ideally suited to the searing heat of the Gulf in the summer months.

In the UAE the AW139 is now in operation in a number of roles. The UAE Air Force operates the helicopter for utility and VVIP missions and it performs similar missions for the Dubai Air Wing, while police in Abu Dhabi use the AW139 for law enforcement.

The Middle East is one of the strongest markets worldwide for VVIP helicopters and, in addition to the AW139, AgustaWestland has also enjoyed success with the three-engined AW101, having concluded sales for undisclosed VVIP customers in the region.

The company describes the AW101 as the ‘ultimate’ VVIP helicopter because of its stand-up cabin and vast interior.

Since agreeing to acquire Bell’s share in the newly named AW609 civil tiltrotor programme a year ago, AgustaWestland also has another potentially strong player in the VVIP market of the future. FAA and EASA certification of the AW609 is now planned for 2015, with customer deliveries beginning soon afterwards.

Two of AgustaWestland’s three military customers for the AW139 are concentrated in the Middle East, with the Qatar Armed Forces and the UAE Air Force both operating the type.

The Qatar Armed Forces has ordered 21 AW139s and the majority have now been delivered. They will perform a wide variety of missions, including utility, troop transport, search and rescue (SAR), border patrol, special forces operations, law enforcement, homeland security and emergency medical services (EMS).

Garavaglia believes there is a growing shift towards greater use of rotary-wing rather than fixed-wing aircraft for a number of military missions and that this trend is being reflected in the requirements of Middle East customers.

“Military helicopters are used in a number of ways in the region, including in a combat role, for utility missions, on the battlefield and also for naval missions. The importance of rotary-wing assets is growing as the threat environment changes.

“The threat in most scenarios is no longer a large enemy fleet but rather small, fast boats that can conduct rapid missions close to shore. The threat is moving from ‘blue water’ to a ‘brown water’ environment, which means that military operators need a fast response capability, with good observation systems and weaponry that is suited to this new threat.”

AgustaWestland’s newest product in the military sector is the AW149, which was unveiled at Farnborough in 2006 and made its maiden flight in 2009. The eight-tonne class helicopter is designed for battlefield operations and is capable of carrying 18 troops for missions including battlefield support, casualty evacuation, SAR, combat SAR and surveillance.

The company has reiterated its commitment to the programme, despite losing out to the Sikorsky T-70 in Turkey’s $3.5 billion utility helicopter contest, known as TUHP. Garavaglia said he expects the Middle East region to provide an early buyer for the helicopter.

“We see strong potential for the AW149 in the Middle East for several armed forces, particularly in replacing older Puma class helicopters and some of the older Black Hawks that are in service.

“It is being built with a lot of capability in place and also will benefit from a low-cost approach because we’re taking knowledge and technologies from our commercial platforms and putting them into the AW149.”

The launch of two new civil helicopters within the past 18 months, in the shape of the AW169 and AW189, has given fresh impetus to AgustaWestland’s drive to increase sales in the Middle East.

The AW169 is a new 4.5 tonne class helicopter designed to fill a niche in the AgustaWestland product range and is being targeted at commercial and government operators worldwide.

The company has forecast a market for 1,000 AW169s over the next 20 years.

Development of the eight-seat helicopter was given a boost in July with the award of a £22 million loan by the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. First flight is scheduled for 2012 with deliveries beginning in 2015.

The AW169 has already secured a Middle East customer with Abu Dhabi-based Falcon Aviation Services (FAS) signing a preliminary sale contract for two AW169s, as well as ordering one GrandNew helicopter. FAS is already an AgustaWestland customer, operating two Grand helicopters and it recently took delivery of a VIP-configured GrandNew.

Meanwhile, at Le Bourget in June, AgustaWestland unveiled the AW189, which will be an eight-tonne class helicopter, designed for a range of missions but particularly targeting extended range offshore operations. The aircraft will be certificated in 2013 and enter service early in 2014.

Two General Electric CT7-2E1 engines will power the AW189 and the standard cabin will be configured with 16 seats, although it will also be available in a high-density 18-seat layout or ultra-long range 12-seat configuration.

On board the aircraft the avionics suite is suitable for the NextGen satellite-based IFR navigation and advanced communication and surveillance requirements. The AW189 will also feature an all-weather capability thanks to its synthetic vision system (SVS), which emulates the surrounding topography and to the enhanced vision system (EVS), which improves visibility in degraded visual conditions.

Garavaglia said the AW189 will be a competitor in the Middle East offshore market but also in other applications: “What we have done with the AW169, AW139 and AW189 is provide customers with flexibility – aircraft that can carry eight, 12 and 16 passengers respectively.

“Pilots flying the AW139 will recognise the same level of data presentation in the AW169 and AW189 and the same cockpit philosophy, which is designed to be pilot-friendly and low workload.

“We also see the AW189 as being ideally suited to the VVIP market for customers who need more space on board the aircraft. We are developing our concept of a family of helicopters all of which benefit from high performance and a common design philosophy.”