AgustaWestland, has announce that Mitsui Bussan Aerospace (MBA) has been appointed official distributor for the all new AW169 helicopter in Japan. The distributorship agreement includes a commitment for the sale of twenty AW169s in the Japananese market. AgustaWestland and MBA are the official distributor of 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.”
The features and capabilities of the AW169 will provide solution for Japanese operators looking for advanced requirements in the EMS/SAR, Law Enforcement/patrol, utility/fire fighting, electronic news gathering and passenger transportation markets.
The AW169 is part of the AgustaWestland family of new generation helicopters that includes the AW139 and AW189 models, and posses the same flight characteristics and safety features as well as sharing a common cockpit layout, design philosophy and maintenance concept.
More than 70 AW169 helicopters have now been ordered by customers worldwide for 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.
