US139 AIMING HIGH FOR LUH

AgustaWestland's entry in the U.S. Army's Light Utility Helicopter competition--a variant of the AW139 dubbed US139--features high cruise speed, a large cargo area and ease of handling. As do the other entries, the 139 offers a modern glass cockpit and the additional confidence of twin-engine operation--all of which would be welcome upgrades for legacy Huey and Kiowa pilots.

Black Hawk and Apache pilots would find the US139 similar to their operational aircraft in terms of performance and complexity. Ground crews would appreciate wheeled operations and the large, side-loading cargo area.

The US139 is certainly suitable for medevac and logistics missions. The precision and ease of piloting would make it a good platform for hovering during search-and-rescue attempts, and its flight-path and speed stability make it a good candidate for night and IFR operations.

The light utility helicopters (LUHs) are intended to replace aging Army and National Guard fleets of the venerable Bell UH-1 Iroquois, or "Huey," and the lighter OH-58 Kiowa. The new birds are also intended to free up the more capable UH-60 Black Hawks in the Army and Guard from stateside missions for overseas deployments.

The LUH program aims to phase in the 322 new aircraft in 2006-15. They are expected to perform a wide range of support missions, mostly confined to the U.S. Operations will include personnel transport, medical evacuation, resupply, disaster relief, homeland security and drug interdiction. Most of the aircraft, an estimated 204, are destined for Guard units, and 60 initially will be outfitted for medevac.

The LUH procurement pits two international teams and two U.S. manufacturers against one another. The Army recently completed five weeks of field trials at Ft. Rucker, Ala. The evaluation of the "flyoff" and the manufacturers' proposals is ongoing, and a selection announcement is expected this summer. Initial delivery of aircraft is planned before the end of 2006.

Besides AgustaWestland, competitors are: American Eurocopter (a unit of EADS North America) with the EC-145, Bell Helicopter Textron (formerly a partner with Agusta on what was then called the AB139) with the 412EP and MD Helicopters with a no tail rotor (notar) design on the MD 902 Explorer. In a break from many previous major procurements, the Army is specifying that the helicopter be FAA type certificated, and the service seeks a turnkey or "power-by-the-hour" approach to fleet maintenance.

The AW139 first flew in February 2001 and was FAA certified in December 2004. So far, 30 AW139s have accumulated more than 4,000 hr. They are performing offshore oil platform logistics, emergency medical services, disaster relief and VIP transport worldwide. The company has a total of 170 orders from customers in 23 countries.

The aircraft is currently manufactured in Italy with further commercial production in the U.S. to start at the end of 2006 at AgustaWestland's newly expanded facility in Philadelphia. If selected for the LUH, a military production line for what would be designated the UH-139 would be established in Waco, Tex.