AW149 Multirole Helicopter, Italy

AgustaWestland announced the launch of the new AW149 multirole helicopter in June 2006 at the Farnborough Air Show.

The AW149 is a 7t to 8t class multi-role helicopter for military and paramilitary use. The helicopter will have a maximum cruise speed of 296km/h (165kt) and a hover altitude ceiling of over 8,000ft at maximum all up weight. The AW149 will carry up to 16 troops and will have a range in excess of 920km.

Heavy-duty retractable wheeled landing gear allows the aircraft to both ground taxi and operate from rough terrain.

The AW149 design fits between the 6.4t AW139 and the 10.6t NH90 in the AgustaWestland product range.

The helicopter has a five-bladed main rotor of diameter 14m and a four-bladed tail rotor. The rotors are ballistic tolerant. The first flight is scheduled for late 2009 and certification is expected in late 2011.

AW149 missions

In the battlefield support role, the AW149 provides unobstructed cabin space (3m long, 2.26m wide and 1.45m high) plus a baggage compartment, and can accommodate 16 troops or 12 fully equipped soldiers. The 2,720kg rated external cargo hook allows heavy equipment to be transported to and from the battlefield.

In the combat search and rescue (CSAR) role, the helicopter is crewed by two pilots and two or four crew members. A rescue hoist and other CSAR mission equipment and armaments are fitted.

The helicopter can be equipped for other missions such as medical evacuation and command and control. In the medical evacuation role, the cabin accommodates two to six stretchers, four attendants and in-flight medical equipment. For command and control missions, the AB149 is equipped with a suite of command, control and communications (C3) systems with two workstations.

Weapons

Outrigger pylons can carry seven, 12 or 19-tube 70mm and 81mm rocket launchers, air-to-air missiles and air-to-ground missiles.

The helicopter can be fitted with a 20mm machine gun pod or a 12.7mm machine gun pod with three tubes for 70mm rockets.

The cabin can be fitted with window-mounted 7.62mm general-purpose machine guns. The helicopter is equipped with defensive aids subsystems.

Cockpit

The cockpit accommodates the pilot and co-pilot, is night-vision compatible and is fitted with dual controls. The cockpit has crew doors on both sides.

The avionics suite includes a military standard 1553B databus, a four-axis autopilot, and a health and usage monitoring system (HUMS). The instrumentation systems include forward-looking infrared (FLIR) imaging system, night-vision goggle compatible lighting and four 6in×8in colour active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCD). A weather radar can be installed in the chin pod. The helicopter is also equipped with an emergency locator and a personal locator system.

AW149 cabin

The cabin and the cockpit are air-conditioned. The cabin is 25% larger than that of the AW139 and can accommodate up to 16 troops with light equipment or 12 fully equipped troops. The cabin is fitted with a large sliding door on each side for fast embarking and disembarking. The helicopter can be fitted with a 272kg electric rescue hoist with a utility hoist light on the starboard side for rescue operations.

The main cabin bubble windows give good visibility.

Systems and equipment

The helicopter is equipped with a cargo hook kit rated at 2,720kg (6,000lb).

The helicopter is fitted with a fast roping kit for fast insertion of troops where it is unsafe or inappropriate for the helicopter to land and take-off.

Engines

The AW149 helicopter will be powered by two 1,500kW class turboshaft engines giving the aircraft exceptionally good hot and high performance. The engines are fitted with an air particle separator. A closed circuit refuelling system allows rapid refuelling.

Safety systems include anti and de-icing systems, an emergency flotation system and wire strike protection.