Thu, Dec 01, 2005
AgustaWestland announced this week that Estonia's Interior
Ministry Secretary-General, Mart Kraft, and Border Guard
representative Riho Breivel have signed a contract for one
AB139 helicopter (file photo of type, below) with options for a
second.
The Ministry of the Interior launched the state tender
competition for the acquisition of a helicopter for the Border
Guard in June 2005, and the AB139 was judged the only helicopter
that met the conditions set out in the tender.
The Border Guard helicopter, to be based in the capital of
Tallinn, will carry out patrols over the whole territory within the
sphere of responsibility of Estonia. That's no small feat, as
Estonia includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea -- although
overall the nation (map, below) is slightly smaller than New
Hampshire and Vermont combined.
The AB139 helicopter purchase will fulfill one goal of the
Schengen Facility Program: to ensure that the work of guarding the
external borders and the border control infrastructure are in
compliance with the Schengen zone requirements. Estonia is
preparing to join the Schengen Agreement -- which allows residents
of European countries party to the Agreement to travel without
having to show passports when crossing international borders -- in
2007.
The Estonia Border Guard is the latest of several government
agencies and military operators to have ordered AB139 helicopters.
Designed with inherent multi-role capability and flexibility of
operation, the AB139 is capable of carrying up to 15 passengers (or
six litters with four medical attendants) at the highest speed, in
the most spacious cabin and with the best power reserve of any
helicopter in the medium twin-engine class.
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