The 2nd June marks the National Day and Republic Day of Italy. Currently, an HH-139B from 15 Stormo based at Trapani is present in Malta to participate in a training exercise with the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM). To commemorate the event, the Italian crew performed a flypast with AFM’s own AW-139 over Malta’s Grand Harbour, in a stunning setting as seen in the images below.
In December, 2020 the Italian Air Force took delivery of the first of 17 HH-139Bs. The HH-139Bs perform a range of missions including SAR, fire-fighting, and Slow Mover Intercept, and joined an existing fleet of 13 multirole HH-139As and four VH-139As, the latter are used for government transport missions. Compared to the HH-139A, the 7-tonne HH-139B variant features, among others, new electro-optics, new radar, a new rescue hoist and a mission console in the cabin. Core avionics will feature Phase 8 software release allowing even more advanced and safer all-weather navigation and mission capabilities. The HH-139 helicopters will serve as an interim solution to replace the ageing HH-212 and already retired HH-3F helicopters role of search and rescue (SAR) operations across the nation.
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