The HH-139A is the military variant of the AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter operating with the Italian Air Force.
It is a multipurpose chopper with modern equipment, including an integrated NVG-compatible glass cockpit, 4-axis digital Digital AFCS (automatic flight control system) with search and rescue modes, weather/search radar, TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) II, FLIR (Forward Looking Infra-Red), Health and Usage Monitoring System (HUMS), Digital video recorder, Video downlink, Moving map on flat display, and Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS).
The HH-139A also features a secure communications suite, integrated defensive aids suite, hoist, search light, wire cutters, nose-mounted FLIR, cargo hook, loudspeaker system, and emergency flotation gear and any other equipment required to perform “conventional” search and rescue, as well as Combat SAR missions.
Along with provisions for two wing-mounted pods for 70 mm unguided rockets the helicopter can also carry a bambi bucket for aerial firefighting activity.
The Aviationist contributor Alessandro Caglieri had the opportunity to take part in a training flight aboard an Italian Air Force HH-139A belonging to the 15° Stormo (Wing) temporarily deployed to Decimomannu airbase, Sardinia, along with another helicopter of the same type in order to perform SAR duties in place of the local-based AB.212 chopper, which is grounded by maintenance work.
In this post you can see the stunning pictures he took during the firefighting training mission. The photos provide an interesting insight into the cockpit, instruments and equipment of the HH-139A.
During the deployment (from Apr. 28 to May 28, 2015), the HH-139As totaled about 50 flight hours, during which four crews were qualified on the helicopter in the firefighting role.
On May 14, this helicopter type was involved in its first-ever firefighting mission, when a HH-139A involved in a training flight was diverted to fire a wild-fire in the town of Escalaplano, not far from Cagliari.
With the HH-139A and the recently delivered HH-101A Caesar, the Italian Air Force has renewed its rotary-wing fleet with modern choppers capable of performing a wide spectrum of missions, from the CSAR (Combat Search-and-Rescue) to the Special Operations support.
Image credit: Alessandro Caglieri
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