AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Mitsui Bussan Aerospace are pleased to announce they have been awarded a contract by the Japan National Police Agency (JNPA) to supply two AW139 twin engine helicopters which will be operated in Hokkaido and Fukushima prefectures. This latest order brings the number of AW139 helicopters ordered by customers in Japan to more than 40.

AgustaWestland’s Head of Region, NE Asia, Andrew Symonds said “I am delighted the AW139 is successfully serving the JNPA and that they have selected the aircraft again for its requirements in Hokkaido and Fukushima. With no other helicopter in its class offering the same levels of safety and performance the AW139 has been welcomed widely by customers in Japan and elsewhere in the world.”

The AW139 has proven extremely successful in Japan performing a number of roles including search and rescue and coast guard duties, law enforcement, fire fighting, disaster relief and electronic news gathering. The Japan Coast Guard has placed orders for 18 AW139s so far. The AW139 has also become the platform of choice for public utility roles such as law enforcement, fire fighting and disaster relief with the Japan National Police Agency, Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Fire and Disaster Management Agency as well as several prefectures and city authorities introducing the type into service. All Nippon Helicopter (NHK) and Kansai TV have chosen the AW139 to carry out Electronic News Gathering (ENG) missions across the nation. The only new generation helicopter in its weight class, the AW139 has rapidly become the benchmark helicopter in the medium twin market and the helicopter of choice for several roles. The AW139 sets new standards of performance in its category with 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. The AW139 also features the largest cabin in its category. The AW139, together with the next generation AW169 and AW189 models, is part of the AgustaWestland Family of new generation helicopters 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.

With orders for over 700 units in more than 50 countries from almost 180 customers and over 500 units already in service, the AW139 is the best selling medium twin helicopter in the world.

AgustaWestland’s success in the Japanese helicopter market continues to grow with strong sales in recent years across its complete commercial product range. AgustaWestland opened a new regional business headquarters in Tokyo in 2008 in support of its growing business in Japan. The helicopter fleet in Japan is also supported by four official service centres which provide maintenance and repair services, confirming AgustaWestland’s commitment to current and future rotorcraft requirements in Japan.