An acceptance ceremony took place in the presence of Italian Minister of Defence
Lorenzo Guerini, Italian Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Alberto Rosso, Leonardo CEO
Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo General Manager Lucio Valerio Cioffi and Leonardo
Helicopters’ MD Gian Piero Cutillo.
 Minister Guerini: “National sovereignty, from a military and technological point of
view, is preserved today also thanks to this level of excellence and to the synergies
among institutions, Defence and industry. Italy has prime industrial capabilities and
Leonardo symbolises a nation, which can leverage a top world-class Aerospace,
Defence and Security industry.”
 Profumo: “We are proud to represent world-class rotorcraft technology excellence,
which is able to maintain Leonardo and Italy at the forefront of innovation in an
increasingly strategic, highly competitive sector.”
Today Italian Minister of Defence Lorenzo Guerini and Italian Air Force
Chief of Staff Gen. Alberto Rosso attended the acceptance ceremony of an Italian Air Force HH139B helicopter during an official visit to Leonardo’s helicopter facility in Vergiate (Italy). Leonardo
CEO Alessandro Profumo, Leonardo General Manager Lucio Valerio Cioffi, and Leonardo
Helicopters’ MD Gian Piero Cutillo were also in attendance. During the visit to the facility, the
Authorities were shown the Company’s industrial capabilities, products and advanced
technologies, which are fully representative of Leonardo’s leadership in the vertical flight domain
and preserve in-country strategic technological capabilities.
The HH-139B is a dedicated Air Force variant of the AW139 type. The aircraft will be used for a
wide range of missions including SAR – Search and Rescue, fire-fighting, Slow Mover Interceptor.
Italian Minister of Defence Lorenzo Guerini said: ““National sovereignty, from a military and
technological point of view, is preserved today also thanks to this level of excellence and to the
synergies among institutions, Defence and industry. Italy has prime industrial capabilities and
Leonardo symbolises a nation, which can leverage a top world-class Aerospace, Defence and
Security industry.”
Alessandro Profumo, CEO of Leonardo, said: “We are proud to provide our capability so that the
Italian Air Force’s major duties such as supporting the national community and homeland security
are guaranteed. The HH-139B is an iconic product fully representative of national industry’s
technology excellence and international competitiveness. The facility in Vergiate - the largest
Leonardo helicopter final assembly line with more than 1,000 employees - shows outstanding

rotorcraft capabilities in terms of products, manufacturing processes, and professional skills, and
is able to maintain Leonardo and Italy at the forefront of innovation in an increasingly strategic
and highly competitive sector.”
Over 1,200 AW139s have been sold to more than 280 customers in over 70 countries, including
more than 80 for Italian government operators (Air Force, Guardia di Finanza, State Police, Coast
Guard, National Firefighting Department and Carabinieri), plus emergency medical service
operators. This helicopter model benefits from advanced digital technology solutions, for both
flight and missions as well as training (pilots and maintenance technicians) and support. The
helicopter’s state-of-the-art satellite navigation and synthetic vision system has 3D
representations of the external environment on cockpit displays even in poor visibility conditions,
advanced collision avoidance and proximity systems, mission sensors and an automatic flight
control system, which is able to assist the crew during SAR and hoisting in harsh environmental
and weather conditions. The AW139 also features modern predictive maintenance and
diagnostics solutions allowing accurate, rapid assessment and data processing on the health and
usage of aircraft components. This allows more efficient maintenance activities increasing
operational effectiveness and safety. Both flight and maintenance training are extensively
delivered in virtual environments and simulation. Crews can therefore maximise their ability to use
equipment and leverage the best performance of the product during missions. Maintenance
technicians can leverage virtual training therefore increasing technical assistance quality and
reliability. All of these capabilities bring greater safety to operations.
The majority of Leonardo helicopters that are manufactured, and the largest number of its
helicopter types in the product portfolio, are assembled at Vergiate facility. Components from
Leonardo’s Centres of Excellence in Italy and abroad (airframes, dynamics, avionics, equipment),
in addition to the wider supply chain, are gathered and then enter the production process to build
the complete helicopter. This is customised, tested, and delivered to Italian and international
customers. A major logistics centre is also based in Vergiate for spare parts storage and
management and for technical support assisting Leonardo’s helicopter global fleet, which
comprise more than 5,000 units that are used by over 1,200 operators in more than 150 countries.