Onboard Systems International, Inc., a leading provider of innovative helicopter cargo hook equipment, today announced that it has been awarded a contract from Leonardo Helicopters to provide backup HEC (Human External Cargo) hook systems for the Agusta Westland AW169 and AW101 aircraft. The backup hooks can be added onto the primary cargo hook system for new and existing AW169 and AW101 aircraft to enable HEC operations in utility, search and rescue, personnel insertion and extraction, and other missions.

“We are very excited for the opportunity to partner with Leonardo to add HEC capabilities for these aircraft,” said Karsten Lemmon, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Onboard Systems. “Many operators have expressed an interest in using Onboard’s equipment for HEC missions, so we are pleased to be able to be working with Leonardo to add HEC-certified cargo hook equipment to these aircraft.”

For the AW169, the backup cargo hook system will feature Onboard’s TALON® LC Hydraulic Cargo Hook, which will allow for flexible rigging of the release line around the primary hook system while effectively reducing inadvertent cargo releases. The AW101 backup cargo hook system will feature the fast-rope version of Onboard’s TALON LC Cargo Hook, which is currently in use on the AW101.