AgustaWestland

AgustaWestland was a helicopter design and manufacturing company.[2] It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. (previously Finmeccanica).[3] It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian[4] multinational company, when Finmeccanica and GKN merged their respective helicopter subsidiaries (Agusta and Westland Helicopters) to form AgustaWestland,[5] with each holding a 50% share. Finmeccanica acquired GKN's stake in AgustaWestland in 2004.

Leonardo Helicopters
Typesubsidiary
IndustryHelicopter
PredecessorAgusta
Westland Helicopters
Founded2000
Defunct2015 (merged in Leonardo)
HeadquartersRome, Italy
Key people
Daniele Romiti (chief executive officer)
ProductsHelicopters
Revenue€4,243 million (2012)[1]
€473 million (2012)[1]
Number of employees
12,500 (at 31 December 2015)[1]
ParentLeonardo S.p.A. (known as Finmeccanica before 31 December 2015)
SubsidiariesPZL-Świdnik
Websiteleonardocompany.com

In 2016, it merged into Leonardo where it became the company's helicopters division under the Leonardo Helicopters brand.[6][7]

History

The collaboration between Agusta and Westland dates back to 1981, when the two companies established the European Helicopter Industries joint venture with the aim of developing a new medium-size utility helicopter, the EH101.

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 in Weston-super-Mare, which carried out customer support work, as activity was concentrated at its main site in Yeovil.[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 helicopter Marine One over the U.S. manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft, but this program was canceled in 2009.[15] In November 2005 it was announced that AgustaWestland had agreed to acquire Bell Helicopter's 25 per cent interest in the AB139 medium twin helicopter program, and to increase its interest in the BA609 civil tiltrotor aircraft from 25 per cent to 40 per cent.[16]

Qinetiq AgustaWestland AW109E Power arrives for the 2014 Royal International Air Tattoo, England

In June 2008, AgustaWestland and the Russia-based helicopter manufacturer Russian Helicopters agreed to form a new joint venture company to assemble AW139 helicopters in Russia.[17] Construction of a $50 million helicopter assembly facility in the town of Tomilino near Moscow began in June 2010.[18][19]

In early 2010, AgustaWestland acquired PZL-Świdnik, a Polish helicopter manufacturer.[20]

In September 2012, AgustaWestland and Northrop Grumman announced the signing of a comprehensive teaming agreement under which the companies will jointly bid for contracts to build the U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue helicopter and U.S. Navy's new "Marine One" presidential helicopter.[21]

In March 2013, AgustaWestland announced its Project 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."[22]

AgustaWestland AW101 order controversy
See also: 2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal

India signed a contract to purchase 12 AgustaWestland AW101 helicopters in February 2010 for the Communication Squadron of Indian Air Force to carry the president, PM and other VVIPs. Controversy over the contract came to light on 12 February 2013 with the arrest of Giuseppe Orsi, the CEO of Finmeccanica, AgustaWestland's parent company by Italian authorities;[23] the following day Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony ordered a probe into the contract.[24]

In January 2014, India cancelled the US$630 million deal with AgustaWestland for purchasing 12 AW101s meant for use by VIPs. Following this event, in June 2014 India recovered the entire sum of Rs 18.18 billion which it had paid to the company.[25] The decision to annul the 2010 deal, being probed by the CBI for irregularities, came after a meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Defence Minister A.K. Antony in New Delhi. According to the Defence Ministry, the government cancelled the contract "on grounds of breach of the Pre-contract Integrity pact and the agreement by AWIL (AgustaWestland International Ltd)". The contract was frozen in February 2013 after allegations surfaced that US$60 million had been paid as a bribe.[26]

Merger into Leonardo

In 2016, following a corporate reorganization, AgustaWestland merged into Leonardo, Finmecannica's new name.[27] With this reorganization AgustaWestland ceased to exist as a company, and become Leonardo's helicopter division.

Products
ModelFirst flightMTOWDescription
Agusta A129 Mangusta1983-09-114.6tattack helicopter
TAI/AgustaWestland T-1292009-09-285tA129 development with TAI
AgustaWestland AW101/EH101 (Merlin)1987-10-0914.6tthree-engine
AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant2000-05-3114.6tAW101 Canadian air-sea rescue designation
Lockheed Martin VH-71 Kestrel2007-07-0314.6tcancelled USMC Marine One AW101 VIP variant with Lockheed Martin and Bell Helicopter)
AgustaWestland AW1091971-08-042.85teight seats twin-engine
AgustaWestland AW109S Grand19883.175tAW109 stretch
AgustaWestland AW119 Koala1995-022.72teight seats single-engine AW109
AgustaWestland AW1392001-02-037t15-seat twin-engine (former Bell/Agusta AB139)
AgustaWestland AW1492009-11-138.6tmedium-lift military helicopter
Westland Lynx1971-03-215.33tmilitary helicopter
AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat2009-11-126tLynx development
AgustaWestland AW1692012-05-104.8t10-seat twin-engine
AgustaWestland AW1892011-12-218.3ttwin-engine
AgustaWestland AW24920257tattack helicopter, A129 replacement
AgustaWestland AW6092003-03-067.62ttiltrotor (former Bell/Agusta BA609)
AgustaWestland Project Zero2011-06hybrid tiltrotor/fan-in-wing demonstrator
NHI NH901995-12-1810.6ttwin-engine military helicopter (NHIndustries is 62.5% Eurocopter, 32% AgustaWestland and 5.5% Fokker)
PZL W-3 Sokół1979-11-166.4ttwin-engine
PZL SW-41996-10-291.8tsingle-engine
Agusta-Bell 4121979-085.4tlicensed twin-engine
AgustaWestland Apache1975-09-309.5tGKN-Westland license of the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter, 67 built for the British Army

See also
  • List of Italian companies

Comparable major helicopter manufacturers:

References
  1. "Key information". AgustaWestland. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
  2. "Philly factory to begin producing new chopper". The Business Journals.
  3. "Finmeccanica meeting approves new name, 'Leonardo'". Ansa News.
  4. "Profile on Leonardocompany.com". Archived from the original on 10 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
  5. "Finmeccanica: al via riassetto AgustaWestland (MF) – MilanoFinanza.it". 8 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  6. Mark Huber (5 May 2016). "AgustaWestland Rebranded Again, Now Leonardo Helicopters". AIN.
  7. Leonardo – Helicopters
  8. "Westland helicopter merger flies". BBC News. 18 March 1999. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  9. "Westland merger confirmed". BBC News. 26 July 2000. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  10. "GKN wins 'top-up' merger payments". The Telegraph. 27 July 2000. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  11. "Westland closes factory". BBC News. 10 January 2002. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  12. "GKN sells its stake in Westland". BBC News. 28 July 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  13. "GKN sells AgustaWestland stake". The Guardian. 28 July 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  14. "AgustaWestland sale to go ahead". BBC News. 6 October 2004. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  15. "Gates outlines military spending overhaul". NBC News. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  16. "Bell to sell helicopter program stake to AgustaWestland". Flightglobal. 22 November 2005. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  17. "Russia, Italy to assemble AW139 helicopters in Moscow region". RIA Novost. 11 June 2008. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  18. "Russia, Italy to build helicopter assembly facility". The Voice of Russia. 22 June 2010. Archived from the original on 25 June 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  19. "Italian, Russian Firms to Build Helicopter Factory". The Moscow Times. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 25 September 2012.
  20. Gazeta Wyborcza article from 2 February 2010
  21. "Northrop Grumman, Finmeccanica team up for US helicopters". Reuters. 18 September 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  22. "AHS – Sample Vertiflite article: Project Zero". Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  23. Emilio Parodi and Stephen Jewkes (12 February 2013). "Finmeccanica head arrested over India bribe allegations". Reuters.
  24. "VVIP chopper deal scam: Italy arrests Finmeccanica CEO, India orders CBI probe". ZEE News. 13 February 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
  25. "Key Agusta Westland accused names Kamal Nath's son, Ahmed Patel, Salman Khurshid: Report". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  26. "Rs 3,600 crore VIP chopper deal with AgustaWestland scrapped in view of bribery allegations".
  27. "Finmeccanica approves merger and spin-off operations for the implementation of the divisionalisation process". www.leonardocompany.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
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