Leonardo has announced a further growth in presence of the AW139 intermediate twin-engine helicopter in Australia at Heli-Expo 2024, with orders for three more aircraft by LifeFlight Australia. These add to two additional aircraft for LifeFlight’s joint venture partner StarFlight, that had been ordered in late 2023. The helicopters will be used to carry out emergency medical service and search and rescue response missions in Queensland with deliveries expected in late 2024.
LifeFlight and StarFlight operate one of Australia’s largest fleets with 11 AW139s performing air medical and emergency, rescue response missions, and law enforcement. The arrival of five new aircraft take the total fleet size to 16. Established in 1979, LifeFlight operates an advanced fleet of rotary and fixed-wing jet aircraft and employs highly trained medical teams and is a globally recognised training academy and Approved Maintenance Organisation. The AW139 on order will feature all the latest avionics technology, patient care and search and rescue capability. Reliability, quality and serviceability, technology, size, versatility, readiness and all-round advanced capabilities that the AW139s offer, make these aircraft ideal for EMS requirements in Australia.
This latest contract by LifeFlight announced at Heli-Expo marks a further outstanding success for the best-selling AW139 in Australia, being already the leading model for Emergency Medical Service (EMS) nationwide. More than 130 civil, public utility and military helicopters of various models have been sold by Leonardo in the country to date, supported by unique localized support and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul) services. The AW139 has been chosen by several operators in Australia for a range of roles covering HEMS/SAR, law enforcement, offshore transport and government roles with a fleet of over 60 units today in service. The AW139 has been sold by Leonardo in several State Government of the country to carry out a range of law enforcement, patrol and surveillance, maritime search and rescue missions and policing operations. This helicopters is ideal for law enforcement, EMS and parapublic missions thanks to its capability, reliability and safety. A fleet of over 60 units performs all of these missions today in Australia in addition to energy support and transport.
With more than 1200 units delivered to over 300 customers in around 90 nations, and over 4 million flight hours logged to date since its certification in 2004, the AW139 has also proven extremely successful for rescue and emergency missions. The AW139 delivers outstanding capabilities, technology, and safety to meet stringent requirements from operators for tasks in harsh conditions to maximize effectiveness. This type features state-of- the-art avionics with advanced navigation and collision avoidance systems to enhance situational awareness and reduce pilots’ workload, unmatched speed, power margins, and overall performance; the widest cabin in its category featuring high modularity for rapid reconfiguration; a unique 60+ min run-dry capable main gear box for enhanced reliability and safety; and up to 1000 certified kits.