Wed, Feb 16, 2011
AW139 Delivered Monday
The Estonian Police and Border Guard has taken delivery of its
third AW139 medium twin helicopter, according to a news release
from AgustaWestland. This aircraft will perform search and rescue,
border patrol, medical missions and utility duties to support the
community. The handover was performed during an official ceremony
held at Tallinn Airport Monday in the presence of Estonian Minister
of the Interior Marko Pomerants, Secretary General Tarmo
Türkson, Director General of the Police and Border Guard Board
Raivo Küüt, Head of Police and Border Guard Aviation
Group Allan Oksmann, Italian Ambassador Rosa Maria Chicco Ferraro
and other dignitaries.
"It gives us great pleasure to deliver the third AW139 following
the successful introduction into service of the initial two
aircraft," said Ugo Rossini, AgustaWestland VP Head of Europe. "The
Estonian Police and Border Guard operational capabilities will now
be enhanced to even better serve the nation."
All three AW139s are based in Tallinn, however, one aircraft
will be deployed to a new base at Kuressaare Airport (Saaremaa
Island) once all this third aircraft achieves operational
readiness. The deployment of an aircraft to Kuressaare Airport will
enable faster response times in the Western area of Estonia. These
helicopters ensure that the work of guarding the external borders
and the border control infrastructure are in compliance with the
European Schengen zone requirements.
Since the start of operations in October 2007, the first
Estonian Police and Border Guard AW139s have successfully
accomplished a number of search and rescue and patrol missions in
demanding conditions, dramatically enhancing operational
effectiveness and border security.
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