AW1013 Mitsui Bussan AW169

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that Mitsui Bussan Aerospace (MBA) has been appointed official distributor for the all new AW169 helicopter in Japan. The distributorship agreement, which  includes a commitment for the sale of twenty AW169s in the Japananese  market, further strengthens the partnership between AgustaWestland and MBA which has been the official distributor of the AW139 in Japan since 2005.

AgustaWestland’s Head of Region, NE Asia, Andrew Symonds said “Our partnership with MBA has contributed significantly to the outstanding success of the world class AW139 in Japan across a number of roles and applications. By appointing MBA as the official distributor of the latest addition to the AgustaWestland product range, we are confident the AW169 will find similar market response  setting new standards in its category. By doing so MBA also becomes a distributor for two out of three types in our Family of new generation helicopters introducing unprecedented levels of capabilities, mission effectiveness and cost savings for aircraft support and training.”  

Thanks to unprecedented features and capabilities in its class, the AW169 will prove to be  the most effective  solution for Japanese operators  looking for advanced  future requirements in the EMS/SAR, Law Enforcement/patrol, utility/firefighting, electronic newsgathering and passenger transportation  markets.

The AW169 4.5 ton class is set to be the most advanced and cost effective helicopter in its class for several missions. The AW169 is part of the AgustaWestland family of new generation helicopters that includes the AW139 and AW189 models, which posses the same high performance flight characteristics and safety features as well as sharing a common cockpit layout, design philosophy and maintenance concept. This commonality will allow more effective operations for customers operating helicopter fleets across the 4 to 8.5 tonne categories.

More than 70 AW169 helicopters have now been ordered by customers worldwide for a wide range of missions including corporate transport, air ambulance, law enforcement, utility and offshore transport. With three prototypes already flying and a fourth prototype planned in 2013, the AW169 is on schedule to achieve certification in 2014.