Guanxi Province Police Orders an AW139 Helicopter

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is pleased to announce that the Police of the Province of Guanxi in China has placed an order for an AW139 medium twin helicopter. This aircraft will be used to perform a number of roles also including law enforcement and civil protection/disaster relief across the Province. The AW139 adds to the AW109 Power light twin helicopter recently delivered to the Nanning Public Security Bureau further strengthening the operational capabilities in the area as well as in Nanning, the capital of Guanxi Province.

This new contract is part of a helicopter fleet modernization and expansion programme which will include further units to even better serve the local community. This is the third AW139 ordered in China for law enforcement duties following the one purchased by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau and the one ordered by the Shenzhen Public Security Bureau, confirming the reliance of law enforcement operators in China for the best selling medium twin helicopter on the global market.

Giuseppe Orsi, Chief Executive Officer, AgustaWestland said "It gives us great pleasure to add another important customer to the growing list of law enforcement operators who have chosen and are using our helicopters in China to provide the best levels of service to their communities. We are committed to further expanding our presence in the country in the future as the national low-altitude airspace is envisaged to be progressively opened allowing a significant increase of use and exploitation of helicopters' capabilities."

This latest order also confirms AgustaWestland products as the civil helicopters of choice for law enforcement and public utility duties in China, and further expands the already relevant presence in this market where the company boasts a 90% share of the police helicopter fleet, having found a rapidly growing success with other sales logged for the AW119Ke single engine, the AW109 Power and the AW139 models. Law enforcement operators in China using AgustaWestland helicopters also include Zhengzhou and Dalian Public Security Bureau.

AgustaWestland's presence in the China's commercial helicopter market has experienced a quick growing success in recent years for various applications with orders totalling over 30 units of various types so far, particularly for law enforcement, harbour pilot shuttle, water pollution monitoring and passenger transport. The company has also been progressively strengthening its relationship with Chinese aerospace industry through the CAH joint venture with AVIC II for the local assembly of the CA109 light twin helicopter (as the AW109 Power assembled in China has been named) in the plant based in Jingdezhen (Jianxi Province). The announced opening of the low-altitude airspace will dramatically change the market prospective in China and AgustaWestland is well placed to play an even greater role in this market, thanks to its industrial partnership and production activities as well as the largest and the most advanced range of commercial helicopters able to meet current and future requirements for a number of missions.

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