At the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition – LIMA, Leonardo and Weststar Aviation Services (Weststar) from Malaysia celebrated technological and commercial development agreements, in addition to an important sustainability milestone.
Weststar will introduce the AW609 tiltrotor in Malaysia through a one unit operation under lease. The aircraft will be used to perform a series of functions and missions in the country, allowing further development of its operational capabilities adapted to the specific requirements and expectations of the regional market. Leonardo will provide initial training and maintenance , with demonstration activities planned by its partners and carried out during the capacity development phase. This achievement of the AW609 program, the world's first multi-purpose tiltrotor designed to achieve civil certification, marks the entry of the new type into Southeast Asia.
In addition to this important collaboration announcement in the development of revolutionary helicopter capability, Weststar has signed a contract for an additional five AW139 Intermediate Twin Helicopters in an offshore configuration. This move will further strengthen the level of Weststar provides to the regional power industry with the best seller in the world market in its class.
A significant sustainability milestone was also achieved by a Weststar AW139 in VIP configuration on May 22, with the aircraft performing a first SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel) demonstration flight in Malaysia, taking off from Subang Airport (home of Leonardo in Malaysia) bound for LIMA. The SAF fuel was supplied by PETRONAS Dagangan Berhad (PDB) in collaboration with Neste, the world's leading producer of SAF. The flight using SAF in real operations marked a first in Malaysia for helicopters, further demonstrating Leonardo's ability to reduce the impact that aviation has on global carbon emissions across all regions.
Since its inception in 2003, Weststar, a leading regional provider of offshore helicopter transport services, has grown to become one of the leading global companies in the offshore helicopter industry. To date, Weststar operates more than 35 AW139, AW169 and AW189 helicopters from its bases in Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Namibia, Mauritania, Gabon and Republic of Congo, making it one of the largest commercial operators of Leonardo helicopters .
Leonardo continues to play an important role in the Malaysian helicopter market, expanding its presence and increasing its capabilities through an ongoing investment plan. With a regional hub for customer and training near Kuala Lumpur, Leonardo has had a presence in the region for many years and has hundreds of helicopters performing missions such as offshore and enger transport, utilities, national security, law enforcement, SAR , emergency medical services, maritime patrol, military naval functions and armed reconnaissance.
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