{"id":4213,"date":"2014-04-04T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-04T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/?p=4213"},"modified":"2014-04-04T13:00:30","modified_gmt":"2014-04-04T12:00:30","slug":"agustawestland-explores-south-american-territory-at-fidae-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/agustawestland-explores-south-american-territory-at-fidae-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"AW139M initiates South American tour at FIDAE 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Demonstrating <\/a>
Demonstrating combat search and rescue capabilities (photo: Fernando Puppio). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Confirming <\/a>
Confirming systems over Pudahuel’s runway 17L (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div>
\"Checking <\/a>
Checking operational condition with the colourful back ground of Mount Colorado (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Validating <\/a>
Validating operational condition with the colourful back ground of Mount Colorado (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Approaching <\/a>
Approaching Pudahuel runway 17L (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Finmeccanica\u2019s helicopter branch, AgustaWestland<\/strong>, provided one of the few military highlights at FIDAE 2014 by launching an AW139M<\/strong> four-week South American demonstration tour at Chile\u2019s premiere air show. Both at the fair and during the remainder of the tour, the European manufacturer intended to fly a variety of potential government customers and let them test the type\u2019s capabilities for roles such as homeland security, search and rescue, armed patrol and battlefield support.<\/p>\n

By touring the region with a fully-operational example crewed by its present operation (Italian Air Force’s HH-139A MM81797\/15-41, flown by a\u00a015 Stormo crew), AgustaWestland expected to attract significant interest from government operators requiring a cost effective \u201coff-the-shelf\u201d multi-role helicopter, combining features of its AW139 commercial counterpart together with a wide range of military equipment options.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Seats <\/a>
Seats in the main cabin can be fitted with modular armor for passenger protection (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The type’s broad side doors facilitate ingress and egress for passengers, troops and rescuees. Notice also the solid external hoist and rescue vest (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div>
\"AW139M's <\/a>
AW139M’s fully digital cockpit comprises a host of multifuncion displays (photo: Fernando Puppio). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The type’s distinctively prominent nose houses the bulk of the AW139M’s avionics and also supports FLIR and electronic support measures antennaes (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Close-up <\/a>
Close-up illustrates tail rotor design, rear-looking electronic support measures and Italian operational markings (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"The <\/a>
The bulky nose housing most of the avionics systems caught while on inspection (photo: Luis Quintana). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

AW139M’s specific equipment options<\/strong> include armoured cockpit seats to improve crew protection, ballistic-tolerant self-sealing fuel tanks, heavy-duty landing gear, high-definition FLIR, defensive aids, crashworthy troop seats, mission-specific avionics as well as tactical communications and external weapon stores systems.<\/p>\n

The variant also features a low thermal and acoustic signature and is available with an optional full ice protection system.\u00a0Able to operate ashore and at sea, the AW139M\u2019s high performance search radar,\u00a0Electro-Optic \/ Infra Red (EO\/IR) device with video recording and downlink, personnel\u00a0insertion\/extraction equipment (including hoist, fast roping and rappelling points) make it\u00a0ideal for law enforcement missions. For battlefield operations the AW139 can carry a range\u00a0of armament including heavy machine gun pods, 2.75\u201d (70mm) air-to-ground rockets,\u00a012.7mm sniper rifle and 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine guns.<\/p>\n

\n
\""15-41" <\/a>
“15-41” gets a thumbs-up sign from a FIDAE 2014 signalman (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"With <\/a>
With the aft doors open and the rescue vest, “15-41” models a classic rescue configuration (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div>
\"Three-quarter <\/a>
Three-quarter rear view and mid-afternoon sun highlight AW139M’s aerodynamic lines and rescue hoist (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Perfect <\/a>
Perfect side view of the Italian Air Force HH-139W (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Another <\/a>
Another static view illustrating rescue vest and stretcher used in search and rescue missions (photo: Carlos Ay). <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The large constant section cabin<\/strong> can accommodate up to 15 passengers or 10 fully-equipped soldiers\u00a0on crashworthy troop seats or a wide range of equipment and cargo. The stowage area<\/strong>\u00a0to the rear of the cabin is accessible internally in flight or externally on the ground. With the external cargo hook<\/strong>, loads of up to 2,200 kg\u00a0(4,850 lbs) can be transported to the battlefield. Two large sliding cabin doors assist ingress and\u00a0egress of personnel. Crew and occupants can be protected by modular armor protection in\u00a0the cabin and cockpit.<\/p>\n

The AW139M is one of AgustaWestland\u2019s dual-use concept products<\/strong>, carrying all the\u00a0benefits of being an \u201coff-the-shelf\u201d solution with over 850,000 flight hours of experience with\u00a0hundreds of operators all over the world.\u00a0The type is part of the AgustaWestland family of new-generation helicopters that\u00a0includes the AW169M and AW149 models, which possess the same high performance flight\u00a0characteristics and safety features and share a common cockpit layout, design\u00a0philosophy and maintenance concept. This commonality will allow more effective operations\u00a0for customers operating helicopter fleets across the 4 to 8.5 tonne weight categories.<\/p>\n

Military operators of the AW139 include the Italian\u00a0Air Force (10 units) and Coast Guard, the Irish Air Corps, the Qatar Emiri Air Force, the UAE Armed Forces (9), the Royal Thai\u00a0Army and the Trinidad & Tobago Army (4), to name a few.<\/p>\n

\n

Sources<\/strong>: AgustaWestland<\/a>, Scramble<\/a>,\u00a0Wikipedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In addition to providing one of the few military highlights at the fair, AgustaWestland launched an AW139M four-week Spanish South America demonstration tour in Santiago de Chile.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[7],"class_list":["post-4213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-defence","tag-fidae"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/c-14-03-24-5716.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1JKRl-15X","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4253,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/agustawestland-launches-spanish-south-america-expansion-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":4213,"position":0},"title":"AgustaWestland rehearses South American expansion at FIDAE 2014","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Wednesday 16 April 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Exploiting the benefits of an incipient local customers base, an expanding Chilean dealer and the Italian Ministry of Defence, AgustaWestland explored FIDAE 2014 as a platform to expand their presence in Spanish South America. The multinational helicopter subsidiary of the Italian Finmeccanica holding group, featured its largest FIDAE helicopter contingent\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Industry"","block_context":{"text":"Industry","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/industry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/119ke_14-03-24-5626_800.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/119ke_14-03-24-5626_800.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/119ke_14-03-24-5626_800.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/119ke_14-03-24-5626_800.jpg?fit=800%2C534&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4559,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/a-balance-sheet-for-fidae-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":4213,"position":1},"title":"A balance sheet for FIDAE 2014","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Friday 16 May 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"If we were asked to summarize\u00a0FIDAE 2014 with a classical quote, we'd definitively go for \"beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder\".\u00a0From\u00a0trends\u00a0and perceptions initially perceived\u00a0in 2012, opinions about the\u00a0fair seem to fall into two openly opposing perspectives: Outright approval or\u00a0outright condemnation, with\u00a0nothing in between. In other reports and in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air shows & aviation events"","block_context":{"text":"Air shows & aviation events","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/air-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/4-MA_733.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/4-MA_733.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/4-MA_733.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/4-MA_733.jpg?fit=800%2C533&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":656,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fidae12-countdown-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":4213,"position":2},"title":"Countdown to FIDAE 2012 begins!","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Friday 2 December 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"With four months to go to before the show opens, we though it wise to start constructing a preview of what attendees, visitors and the general public will witness in Pudahuel next year. The 17th edition of the International Air & Space Fair (Feria Internacional del Aire y el Espacio,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air shows & aviation events"","block_context":{"text":"Air shows & aviation events","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/air-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Imagen-6079.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Imagen-6079.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Imagen-6079.jpg?fit=650%2C434&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3512,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fidae-2014-3-months-and-counting\/","url_meta":{"origin":4213,"position":3},"title":"FIDAE 2014 preparing for launch: One month and counting down!","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Wednesday 26 February 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Roughly a month before the opening ceremony,\u00a0Gaceta Aeron\u00e1utica updates its evolving \"sneak peek\" of what proffesional and amateur visitors and the general public may encounter late in March, when\u00a0FIDAE 2014\u00a0will officially\u00a0open up at Santiago de Chile's international airport. Attempting to provide the most compact and anticipated preview of the show,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air shows & aviation events"","block_context":{"text":"Air shows & aviation events","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/air-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Imagen_6687_650.jpg?fit=650%2C520&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Imagen_6687_650.jpg?fit=650%2C520&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/Imagen_6687_650.jpg?fit=650%2C520&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":843,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fidae12-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":4213,"position":4},"title":"T minus 3 months to FIDAE 2012!","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Wednesday 4 January 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Further to our initial report published in early-December 2011, we continue to update our preview to the 17th edition of the International Air & Space Fair (Feria Internacional del Aire y el Espacio, or FIDAE 2012), which opens up on Wednesday 27 March 2012 in the military sector of Pudahuel\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air shows & aviation events"","block_context":{"text":"Air shows & aviation events","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/air-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Imagen-_839.jpg?fit=650%2C354&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Imagen-_839.jpg?fit=650%2C354&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/Imagen-_839.jpg?fit=650%2C354&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1055,"url":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/fidae-2012-on-short-final\/","url_meta":{"origin":4213,"position":5},"title":"FIDAE 2012 “on short final”!","author":"Carlos Ay","date":"Thursday 8 March 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The wait is now nearly over! With little over two weeks to go before the show opens on 27 March, the outlook for FIDAE 2012 is taking final shape, although much of its contents will remain under wraps until later in the month. In the third of three instalments on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Air shows & aviation events"","block_context":{"text":"Air shows & aviation events","link":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/category\/air-shows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/1783862.jpg?fit=658%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/1783862.jpg?fit=658%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/1783862.jpg?fit=658%2C360&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4213"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4270,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4213\/revisions\/4270"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gacetaeronautica.com\/gaceta\/wp-102\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}