Two AW109 Powers, One AW139, Join The Force
The Bulgarian Border Police have taken delivery of two
additional AgustaWestland AW109 Power light twin-engine helicopters
and one AW139 medium twin-engine helicopter. The handover was
performed during an official ceremony held at Sofia Airport on
January 15th in the presence of representatives from the Bulgarian
Government, Border Police and several other dignitaries.
(L-R) Ugo Rossini, AgustaWestland, and Tsvetan Tsvetanov,
Govt. of Bulgaria
These helicopters will provide a reliable air surveillance
capability on the outer EU borders, as Bulgaria is expected to be a
Schengen Zone Member shortly. The delivery of the AW139 marks the
entrance of this helicopter model in the Bulgarian helicopter
market. Due to the outstanding capabilities of these two
AgustaWestland helicopter types, the Bulgarian Border Police is
able to enhance its airborne law enforcement capabilities
throughout the country and to patrol its sea and land borders. The
two AW109 Powers and the AW139 add to an AW109 Power delivered in
2010, enlarging the Bulgarian Border Police's helicopter fleet to
four aircraft.
The AW109 Power is equipped with advanced avionics and
mission-dedicated equipment, including a NVG-compatible cockpit,
moving map display, weather radar, searchlight, external
loudspeaker, HD FLIR, digital video downlink, video recorder,
mission console and a sophisticated integrated radio suite for
tactical communications and airborne command & control
functions.
The AW109 Power law enforcement variant is designed to perform a
wide range of security duties to meet the changing demands of law
enforcement: patrol, surveillance and tactical operations, state
border control, counter terrorism, search and rescue, armed
interdiction and other homeland security missions. Numerous law
enforcement and security agencies around the world have chosen the
AW109 Power to fulfil their requirements in Japan, China, Italy,
the USA, Latvia, Chile, United Kingdom and Slovenia. Over 470
helicopters have been sold in almost 50 countries worldwide to date
to perform law enforcement, EMS, VIP/corporate transport and
harbour pilot shuttle missions.
The Bulgarian Border Police's AW139 will provide a greatly
enhanced aerial policing service in the country as well as a
comprehensive SAR capability over the sea and in mountainous areas.
The Bulgarian Border Police's AW139 features an advanced range of
dedicated mission equipment including an Enhanced Ground Proximity
Warning System (EGPWS) and Traffic Collision Avoidance System
(TCAS), moving map, weather/search radar, emergency floats,
double rescue hoist, rappelling rings, external loudspeaker,
searching light, NVG-compatible cockpit, HD FLIR, video downlink,
mission console and a sophisticated integrated radio suite for
tactical communications and airborne command & control
functions.
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