AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Specs, Cockpit, and Price

AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Specs, Cockpit, and Price – AgustaWestland AW129 is the latest variant of the A129 Mangusta (Mongoose) attack helicopter operating with the Italian Army. This attack helicopter was produced by AgustaWestland, a joint venture, which was originally formed by Finmeccanica from Italy and GKN from England, but now only owned by Finmeccanica.

The AW129 Mangusta helicopter can be operated to carry out a variety of missions, including armed surveillance and surveillance, involvement of high-value land targets, escort, fire support, and suppression of air threats. To support this performance, the AW129 is armed with strong air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles, off-axis cannons and increased weapon load.

AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Specs

The helicopter airframe has a semi-monocoque design, where construction is made of aluminum alloy. Composite materials make up nearly 50% of the weight of the aircraft. The fuselage, engine and main rotor have armor which is capable of providing ballistic protection against the 12.7 mm piercing rotation.

AW129 is able to fly more than 1,000 km by using an external fuel tank while carrying four air-to-air missiles for self-protection for three hours. The helicopter weighs around 2,530 kg, so it can be transported by C-130 aircraft and larger transport aircraft.

The AW129 Mangusta helicopter is equipped with a forward-looking infrared (HIRNS) and mini-infrared (FLIR) night vision system, supplied by Honeywell. The system is mounted on the nose of the helicopter.

AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Engine and Performance

The AW129 Mangusta attack helicopter is powered by two flame retardant LHTEC-T800 turboshaft engines with low noise. The two engines are installed separately and have two separate fuel systems with cross-ability. This attack helicopter is equipped with a digital fuel feed controller and an infrared exhaust suppressor system.

The AW129 Mangusta helicopter has a maximum speed of 278 km / h and a cruise speed of 229 km / h. This attack helicopter can ride at 11.3 meters / second. AW129 can fly with a maximum range of 561 km and a ferry range of 1,000 km with a ceiling of 4,725 m.

AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Cockpit and Avionics

The AW129 cockpit accommodates a pilot and a shooter in a multilevel tandem configuration. Both cockpits are equipped with a multifunctional display that presents information from an integrated management system and provides synthetic waypoint maps, navigation data, weapon status, weapon selection, communication, and aircraft / flight data. The screen is equipped with a multifunctional keyboard.

This attack helicopter is equipped with an automatic flight control system, which provides sleep-on-earth flight capability and a level of stability for accurate weapon targeting. The tactical navigation display enhances mission management and situational awareness.

Pilots and shooters are equipped with integrated helmets and display vision systems (IHADS) to position lensed glasses over one eye and display the displays presented by FLIR. This system provides automatic aiming weapons, which can be used day or night.

AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Weapons

Several weapons can be integrated into the AW129 helicopter, including Raytheon Stinger or MBDA (formerly Matra BAe Dynamics) air-to-air missile missiles. This attack helicopter has two air-to-ground missile capabilities with Lockheed Martin Hellfire or Raytheon TOW 2 missiles or a combination of the two, providing selective fire to low and high value fire targets, and precise attack capability in urban environments.

AW129 also has a dual rocket system capability, deploying 70 mm rockets for ammunition similarity with NATO countries and 81 mm rockets for long-range combat. This attack helicopter can carry four 81 mm rocket launchers. A 20 mm type Gatling turret cannon with 500 rounds of ammunition was installed under the nose.

The AW129 electronic war suite includes the Elettronica ELT-156 radar warning receiver and the BAE Systems Italian laser warner RALM-101. The helicopter countermeasure system includes the Elettronica ELT-554 radar and the BAE IEWS AN / ALQ-144A infrared jammer system and chaff dispensers and feed beacons.

AgustaWestland AW129 Mangusta Price and Orders

The price of the latest AW129 Mangusta attack helicopter is around US $ 43 Million. The AW129 Mangusta helicopter has been operating with the Italian Army for a long time and was deployed in Iraq as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and was deployed to Afghanistan in the summer of 2007, as part of the NATO International Security Forces.

In September 2007, Turkey ordered 51 (plus 41 options) AW129 helicopters for the tactical attack and reconnaissance (ATAK) program. The inaugural flight of the T129 helicopter took place on September 28, 2009 during an official ceremony held at the AgustaWestland facility in Vergiate, Italy. Deliveries have started in 2012.