 | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aircraft |
| Predecessors | Agusta Westland Helicopters |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Defunct | 2016(2016-00-00) (aged 15–16) (merged intoLeonardo S.p.A.) |
| Successor | Leonardo Helicopters |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
Key people | Daniele Romiti (chief executive officer) |
| Products | Helicopters |
| Revenue | €4,243 million (2012)[1] |
| €473 million (2012)[1] | |
Number of employees | 12,500 (at 31 December 2015)[1] |
| Parent | Finmeccanica |
| Subsidiaries | PZL-Świdnik |
| Website | helicopters |
AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italianhelicopter design and manufacturing company,[2] which was a wholly owned subsidiary ofFinmeccanica (now known as Leonardo).[3] It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian[4]multinational company, when Finmeccanica andGKN merged their respective helicopter subsidiaries (Agusta andWestland Helicopters) to form AgustaWestland,[5] with each holding a 50% share. Finmeccanica acquired GKN's stake in AgustaWestland in 2004.
In 2016, AgustaWestland was merged intoLeonardo S.p.A. (formerly Finmeccanica), where it became the company's helicopters division under theLeonardo Helicopters brand.[6][7]
The collaboration between Agusta and Westland dates back to 1981, when the two companies established the European Helicopter Industriesjoint venture with the aim of developing a new medium-sizeutility helicopter, theEH101.
In March 1999, Finmeccanica and GKN announced their intention to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries.[8] The two parties announced finalised terms for the merger in July 2000, which included a 50-50 ownership structure, and the payment of top-up fees to GKN to compensate for a disparity in profit levels between Agusta and Westland.[9][10]
In January 2002, AgustaWestland announced that it would be cutting a total of 950 jobs in the United Kingdom and closing its factory inWeston-super-Mare, which carried out customer support work, as activity was concentrated at its main site inYeovil.[11]
On 26 May 2004, GKN confirmed that it had agreed to sell its share of AgustaWestland to Finmeccanica for £1.06 billion.[12][13] The sale was approved by the British government in October 2004.[14]
AgustaWestland opened offices in Philadelphia in 2005 and won a contract to build the new presidential helicopterMarine One over the U.S. manufacturerSikorsky Aircraft, but this program was cancelled in 2009.[15] In November 2005, it was announced that AgustaWestland had agreed to acquireBell Helicopter's 25 per cent interest in the AB139 medium twin helicopter program, and to increase its interest in the BA609 civiltiltrotor aircraft from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.[16]
In June 2008, AgustaWestland and the Russia-based helicopter manufacturerRussian Helicopters agreed to form a new joint venture company to assemble AW139 helicopters in Russia.[citation needed] Construction of a $50 million helicopter assembly facility in the town ofTomilino near Moscow began in June 2010.[17][18]
In early 2010, AgustaWestland acquiredPZL-Świdnik, a Polish helicopter manufacturer.[19]
In September 2012, AgustaWestland andNorthrop Grumman announced the signing of a comprehensive teaming agreement under which the companies would jointly bid for contracts to build the U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue helicopter and U.S. Navy's new "Marine One" presidential helicopter.[20]
In March 2013, AgustaWestland announced itsProject Zero hybrid tiltrotor/fan-in-wing technology demonstrator. The unmanned demonstrator made its first tethered flight in June 2011 at AgustaWestland's Cascina Costa, Italy facility. According to the company, the aircraft "employs no hydraulics, doesn't burn fossil fuel and generates zero emissions."[21]
India signed a contract to purchase 12AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters in February 2010 for the Communication Squadron ofIndian Air Force to carry the president, PM and other VVIPs. The contract was frozen in February 2013 after allegations surfaced that US$60 million had been paid as a bribe.[22] On 12 February 2013,Giuseppe Orsi, the CEO of Finmeccanica, was arrested by Italian authorities;[23] the following day Indian Defence MinisterA.K. Antony ordered a probe into the contract.[24]
In January 2014, India cancelled the US$630 million deal, subsequently recovering the sum which it had paid.[25]
In 2016, following a corporate reorganisation, AgustaWestland merged intoLeonardo S.p.A., Finmeccanica's new name.[26] With this reorganisation, AgustaWestland ceased to exist as a separate company, and it became Leonardo's helicopter division.
In 2020 Leonardo relaunched the "Agusta" brand for the VIP helicopter sector. The launch of the new brand was announced during Expo 2020 in Dubai.[27]
| Model | First flight | Production status | MTOW | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agusta A129 Mangusta | 1983-09-11 | present | 4.6t | attack helicopter |
| AgustaWestland Apache | 1998-09 | 2004 | 9.5t | attack helicopter,GKN-Westland license of theAH-64 Apache, 67 built for theBritish Army |
| AgustaWestland AW101/EH101 (Merlin) | 1987-10-09 | present | 14.6t | three-engine medium-lift helicopter |
| AgustaWestland AW109 | 1971-08-04 | present | 2.85t | eight seats twin-engine |
| AgustaWestland AW109S Grand | 1988 | present | 3.175t | AW109 stretch |
| AgustaWestland AW119 Koala | 1995-02 | present | 2.85t | eight seats single-engine, development of AW109 |
| AgustaWestland AW139 | 2001-02-03 | present | 7t | 15-seat twin-engine (formerBell/Agusta AB139) |
| AgustaWestland AW149 | 2009-11-13 | present | 8.6t | medium-lift military helicopter |
| AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat | 2009-11-12 | present | 6t | Lynx development |
| AgustaWestland AW169 | 2012-05-10 | present | 4.8t | 10-seat twin-engine |
| AgustaWestland AW189 | 2011-12-21 | present | 8.3t | twin-engine medium-lift helicopter |
| AgustaWestland AW249 | 2022-08-12 | present | 7t | attack helicopter, A129 replacement |
| AgustaWestland AW609 | 2003-03-06 | present | 7.62t | tiltrotor (former Bell/Agusta BA609) |
| AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant | 2000-05-31 | present | 14.6t | AW101 Canadian air-sea rescue designation |
| AgustaWestland Project Zero | 2011-06 | present | ? | hybrid tiltrotor/fan-in-wing demonstrator |
| Bell-Agusta 412 | 1979-08 | present | 5.4t | licensed twin-engine |
| Boeing MH-139 Grey Wolf | 2019-01 | present | 7t | military helicopter, a development of AW139 withBoeing |
| Kopter AW09 | 2014-10 | present | 2.65t | former SH09 |
| Leonardo Proteus | mid-2025 (planned) | present | 2.8-3t | uncrewed rotorcraft developed primarily for theRoyal Navy |
| Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel | 2007-07-03 | 2009 | 14.6t | cancelledUSMCMarine One AW101 VIP variant withLockheed Martin andBell Helicopter) |
| NHI NH90 | 1995-12-18 | present | 10.6t | twin-engine military helicopter (NHIndustries is 62.5%Eurocopter, 32% AgustaWestland and 5.5%Fokker Aerostructures) |
| PZL W-3 Sokół | 1979-11-16 | 2015 | 6.4t | twin-engine |
| PZL SW-4 | 1996-10-29 | present | 1.8t | single-engine |
| TAI/AgustaWestland T-129 | 2009-09-28 | present | 5t | attack helicopter, a development of A129 development withTAI |
| Westland Lynx | 1971-03-21 | present | 5.33t | military helicopter |
Comparable majorhelicopter manufacturers:
