AgustaWestland announced this week that Estonia's Interior Ministry Secretary-General, Mart Kraft, and Border Guard representative Riho Breivel have signed a contract for one AB139 helicopter (file photo of type, below) with options for a second.

The Ministry of the Interior launched the state tender competition for the acquisition of a helicopter for the Border Guard in June 2005, and the AB139 was judged the only helicopter that met the conditions set out in the tender.

The Border Guard helicopter, to be based in the capital of Tallinn, will carry out patrols over the whole territory within the sphere of responsibility of Estonia. That's no small feat, as Estonia includes 1,520 islands in the Baltic Sea -- although overall the nation (map, below) is slightly smaller than New Hampshire and Vermont combined.

The AB139 helicopter purchase will fulfill one goal of the Schengen Facility Program: to ensure that the work of guarding the external borders and the border control infrastructure are in compliance with the Schengen zone requirements. Estonia is preparing to join the Schengen Agreement -- which allows residents of European countries party to the Agreement to travel without having to show passports when crossing international borders -- in 2007.

The Estonia Border Guard is the latest of several government agencies and military operators to have ordered AB139 helicopters. Designed with inherent multi-role capability and flexibility of operation, the AB139 is capable of carrying up to 15 passengers (or six litters with four medical attendants) at the highest speed, in the most spacious cabin and with the best power reserve of any helicopter in the medium twin-engine class.

FMI: www.agustawestland.com