Last week, the portal company VNH South (under the Vietnam Helicopter Company, Vietnam People’s Armed Forces) has posted photos acceptance of first AW189 transport helicopter fom AgustaWestland SPA (Republic of Italy) on 21/10. In the picture, the first AW189 helicopter of the Vietnam People’s Army in flight testing in Italy.

This is the first AW-189 delivered among 3 helicopters AW-189 contracted from AgustaWestland, which increases VNH South’s helicopter fleet up to 21 in total, marks amilestone in helicopter fleet of VNH South development process.

As scheduled, in early November 2015, the helicopter will be shipped by sea from Italy to Vietnam and arrive at Vungtau airport in December 2015 to enter into commercial operations since January 2016.

The AW189 is the latest-generation, high performance 8.3 / 8.6 tonne twin-engine helicopter, designed to answer the growing market demand for a versatile, affordable, multirole platform.

The platform exceeds the most recent FAA and EASA Part 29 safety standards, ideal for demanding SAR and offshore operator requirements and benefits from an industry-leading 50 minutes ‘dry-run’ capability on the main gearbox.

The cockpit features an advanced, open-architecture avionics suite with fully digital glass cockpit, incorporating advanced situational awareness technologies to minimise pilot workload and optimise mission-effectiveness.