The Polish subsidiary of AgustaWestland is under contract to supply helicopters to Uganda’s Ministry of Internal Affairs for use in law enforcement operations.
The two aircraft to be supplied by PZL Swidnik are a W-3A Sokol and a GrandNew.

“This latest achievement continues the success of PZL-Świdnik and its parent company’s helicopters in the African commercial and parapublic markets to perform a wide range of missions including law enforcement, emergency medical services, VIP transport, offshore transport and harbor pilot shuttle,” PLZ-Swidnik said.

“The contract was awarded to PZL-Świdnik, following a rigorous evaluation process against the demanding requirements of the customer and includes a comprehensive training and support package.”

The W-3A Sokol is a twin-engine, medium-sized aircraft capable of carrying as many as 14 people and cargo. It has a cruise speed of 148 miles per hour and a range of 463 miles.

It is to be outfitted with a cargo hook, rescue hoist, search light, loudspeaker system, rappelling kit, FLIR and provisions for firefighting equipment and an emergency floatation system, the company said.

The GrandNew is an eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter with a cruise speed of 177 miles per hour and a range of more than 500 miles. Its features include digital avionics for single/dual pilot instrument flight rules operation and a four-axis dual duplex digital autopilot coupled with a flight director. It will be equipped with a cargo hook, search light and loudspeaker system.

PLZ-Swidnik said both aircraft will be delivered to Uganda this year but provided no information as to the value of the helicopter contract.

www.upi.com