Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland start building joint civil AW139 final assembly line plant

Russian Helicopters (subsidiary of JSC UIC Oboronprom, part of Russian Technologies State Corporation) and AgustaWestland (a Finmeccanica company) announced that the set up of a joint civil AW139 medium twin helicopter final assembly plant started with a ground-breaking ceremony on June 22nd. A time capsule was laid in the base of the foundation at the industrial area in Tomilino, near Moscow, during the official ceremony which was attended by representatives and dignitaries from the partners. The final assembly line is being built on a 40,000 m2 site. The projected capacity is in excess of 20 helicopters per year, with production expected to progressively increase, from 5 units in 2011 to a steady state regime in 2015. The total headcount at maximum capacity will be over 100 people. The plant, aimed at meeting the requirements of the civil markets in Russia and CIS countries primarily and – through the AgustaWestland network – for the rest of the world, will be run by HeliVert, a Russian Helicopters and AgustaWestland