The South African Air Force accepted its first four of 30 AgustaWestland A109 LUH light utility helicopters into service last month during a ceremony at its Bloemspruit airbase. To replace the air force’s Aerospatiale Alouette IIIs, the aircraft will be joined by at least another six A109s before year-end, writes Pino Modola.
The newly fielded aircraft included the last of five to be completed by AgustaWestland in Italy and the first three of 25 A109s to be assembled by local industry partner Denel under the terms of South Africa’s 2000 contract for the aircraft. The company is also participating in the production, assembly and test of some components of the A109’s Arrius 2K2 turboshaft engines under a separate agreement with Turbomeca.
The twin-engined A109 LUH has a maximum take-off weight of around 3,000kg (6,600lb) and can carry up to eight people. The type features a glass cockpit with three multifunction displays and advanced avionics for single- or dual-pilot operations. The aircraft can be configured to carry armaments such as unguided rockets, machine gun pods and anti-tank or air-to-air missiles.
AgustaWestland has also received orders to produce a further 31 A109 LUH for the Malaysian (11) and Swedish (20) armed forces, while South Africa retains an option to acquire a further 10 examples.
South Africa’s air force fleet of Denel-produced Oryx utility helicopters last month completed its first 100,000h of flying service. A total of 39 Oryx is currently assigned to six air force squadrons, including two aircraft assigned in support of UN peacekeeping operations in Burundi, the air force says. The type entered frontline use in 1990 and is expected to stay in service until around 2020.
Source: Flight International
