Northrop Grumman, AgustaWestland Sign Agreement To Complete USAF Helicopter Programs

Northrop Grumman Corporation and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company announced that they have signed an agreement to respond to anticipated requests for both the new U.S. Air Force Combat Rescue Helicopter and the U.S. Navy's recently announced program to develop a new "Marine One" presidential helicopter. A U.S.-built helicopter based on the AW101 platform will be offered by Northrop Grumman to meet these requirements. The AW101 system offers both programs an optimum mix of capability to successfully bring the best possible new combat rescue helicopter to the Air Force and the best possible new presidential Helicopter to the Navy-Marine Corps team. The AW101 system is a mature, reliable, highly capable and combat-proven multimission aircraft that affordably meets the needs of the nation's combat search and rescue forces and will serve the nation's presidents far into the future. "This is a strong partnership between two companies that combines each company's strengths," said Paul Meyer, vice president and general manager of advanced programs and technology at Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "While Northrop Grumman has broad expertise in systems integration of large aircraft programs, AgustaWestland has world-leading expertise in global rotorcraft and vertical lift. We believe that this industry partnership will bring together the best experience, expertise and resources, ensuring that the customer receives the best solution". "We are delighted to have Northrop Grumman as a partner, with their impressive history of supporting the U.S. Department of Defense," said Bruno Spagnolini, chief executive officer of AgustaWestland. "We strongly believe that the AW101 is the right aircraft for both missions and that this team can succeed".