AgustaWestland delivers helo to Estonia

FARNBOROUGH, England, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- Estonia is now in possession of its third AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter for search-and-rescue, border patrol and other missions.

The delivery to the country's Ministry of the Interior took place this week at Tallinn Airport.

"It gives us great pleasure to deliver the third AW139 following the successful introduction into service of the initial two aircraft, highlighting the customer's satisfaction with the helicopter, training and support provided," said Ugo Rossini, AgustaWestland's vice president for Europe. "The Estonian police and border guard operational capabilities will now be enhanced to even better serve the nation."

AgustaWestland said all three AW139s are based in Tallinn but one will later be deployed to Kuressaare, Saaremaa Island.

These helicopters ensure that the work of guarding the external borders and the border control infrastructure are in compliance with the European Schengen Area requirements. Since the start of operations in October 2007, the first Estonian police and border guard AW139s have carried out a number of search-and-rescue and patrol missions.

The latest Estonian police and border guard helicopter is the first SAR-configured AW139 and features a full icing protection system, a dual rescue hoist, weather/search radar, emergency floats and life rafts.