The Malaysian army has agreed to lease another two A109s from AgustaWestland to help with pilot training for its new army fleet of 11 A109LOH light observation helicopters, the first of which will be delivered next month. DRB-Hicom subsidiary Deftech will buy the aircraft and provide instructor pilots for operations over a three- to five-year lease period to start next April.
Malaysia last year selected Deftech to maintain its purchased A109s (Flight International, 20-26 July 2004). The company plans to open a service centre at Kuala Lumpur’s Subang airport this month and a second facility in western Malaysia next July.
AgustaWestland was contracted to provide initial operational training on the A109 and army pilots will be put through a two-month course in Italy starting in December. Malaysia’s Aviation Academy Integrated Training and Services will, meanwhile, provide ab initio training using fixed-wing trainers and Eurocopter EC120s.
Malaysia’s first army A109LOH will be shipped to the country in late November to arrive before the Langkawi air show in early December.
Its second aircraft will initially remain in Italy for operational training, with the third to be delivered in December and the remainder to arrive by mid-2006.
Source: Flight International
