Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland sign agreement

Last week, at the
Farnborough Airshow, Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland signed a heads of
agreement to jointly develop an all-new 2.5 tonne class single-engine
helicopter. The agreement was signed by Bruno Spagnolini, chief executive of
AgustaWestland, and Russian Helicopters chief executive Dmitry Petrov. The overall
programme will be shared on a 50/50 basis, with the new helicopter being
designed for the worldwide market and a wide range of applications.

Speaking at the ceremony, Dmitry Petrov said: “We are pleased to be expanding
our partnership with AugustaWestland to include the development of this new
light helicopter. Co-operation with other global leaders represents an
important component of our strategy as we continue developing new products to
meet the constantly evolving demands of our customers around the world.” Bruno
Spagnolini said: “This agreement further expands our strong and successful
co-operation with Russian Helicopters. Having established Helivert to assemble
the AW139 in Russia,
this programme marks the next step up in terms of co-operation to address the
future needs of not only the important and growing Russian market but also the
worldwide market.”

AgustaWestland and Russian
Helicopters established the joint venture company HeliVert in 2010 to assemble
AW139 helicopters at a new plant in Tomilino, near Moscow. The plant will meet the growing
demand for the AW139 helicopter in both Russian and CIS civil markets with
production starting this year.