
Agusta was an Italian
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...
manufacturer. It was based in
Samarate,
Northern Italy
Northern Italy (, , ) is a geographical and cultural region in the northern part of Italy. The Italian National Institute of Statistics defines the region as encompassing the four Northwest Italy, northwestern Regions of Italy, regions of Piedmo ...
. The company was founded by Count
Giovanni Agusta
Count Giovanni Agusta (Parma, 1879 – Parma, 1927) was an italian entrepreneur, aircraft pioneer and inventor of the parachute. He formed the Agusta company in 1923 which became part of AgustaWestland in 2000. He died in 1927. His son, Count Do ...
in 1923, who flew his first aeroplane in 1907. The
MV Agusta
MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is an Italian high end motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded by Domenico Agusta, Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of ...
motorcycle manufacturer began as an offshoot of the Agusta aviation company at the end of the Second World War, as a means to save the jobs of employees of the Agusta firm.
In July 2000, Agusta merged with
Westland Helicopters
Westland Helicopters was a British aircraft manufacturer. Originally Westland Aircraft, the company focused on helicopters after the Second World War. It was amalgamated with several other British firms in 1960 and 1961.
In 2000, it merged ...
to form
AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...
S.p.A., a
multinational helicopter design and manufacturing company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of
Leonardo S.p.A.
History
From 1952, the company became involved in helicopter manufacturing, first building
Bell
A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...
helicopters under licence, but later
Sikorsky
Sikorsky or Sikorski may refer to:
* Sikorsky (comics), a Marvel Comics character
* Sikorsky (crater), a lunar crater
* Sikorsky Aircraft, an American aircraft manufacturer
People with the surname
* Brian Sikorski (born 1974), Major League Basebal ...
,
Boeing
The Boeing Company, or simply Boeing (), is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product support s ...
and
McDonnell Douglas
McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American Aerospace manufacturer, aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own ...
products as well. The company also had ambitions to design and build its own helicopters. The
Agusta A.101 and the
Agusta A.106 can be considered the best of its earlier attempts. Others included the
AB.102,
A.103,
A.104, and
A.115. It also produced a small line of aero engines such as the
GA.70 and
GA.140.
Developed in the 1970s, the
Agusta A109
The AgustaWestland AW109, originally the Agusta A109, is a lightweight, twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter designed and initially produced by the Italian rotorcraft manufacturer Agusta. It was the first all-Italian helicopter to b ...
is a commercial and military twin-turbine helicopter, of which the latest variants are still in production.
In 1983, the
Agusta A129 Mangusta
The Agusta A129 Mangusta () is an attack helicopter originally designed and produced by Italian company Agusta. It is the first attack helicopter to be designed and produced wholly in Europe. It has continued to be developed by AgustaWestland, t ...
anti-tank helicopter partook in its first official flight engagement. It was the first
attack helicopter
An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive (military), offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their ...
to be designed and produced in Western Europe. However, this helicopter has been a limited commercial success so far, seeing service with the
Italian Army
The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...
, and has also been a
modernized variant being developed for the
Turkish Army
The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...
.
The 1980s saw the start of several collaborative projects for Agusta. In 1981 Agusta and
Westland of Britain started the
EH101
The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requiremen ...
medium-lift naval helicopter project in order to satisfy the requirements of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
and the
Italian Navy
The Italian Navy (; abbreviated as MM) is one of the four branches of Italian Armed Forces and was formed in 1946 from what remained of the ''Regia Marina'' (Royal Navy) after World War II. , the Italian Navy had a strength of 30,923 active per ...
. In 1985 the company started a collaborative programme with the aeronautic industries of France, Germany and the Netherlands in order to develop and produce the
NHIndustries NH90
The NHIndustries NH90 is a European medium-sized, twin-engine, multirole military helicopter. It was the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly-by-wire flight controls.Perry, Dominic"Rotor club: Our top 10 most influential helicop ...
, a nine-ton twin-engine multi-role medium helicopter in order to satisfy the requirements of their respective countries’ armed forces.
1990s projects include the
Agusta A109 Power, an improved version of the A109C series (1994) and the
Agusta A119 Koala (1997), a single-engine design based on the A109.
Agusta became involved in the Belgian
bribery scandal when it was revealed that the company had paid the two Belgian socialist parties who were then (1988/1989) in the government to assist the company in getting the contract for attack helicopters for the Belgian Army.
In 1998, Agusta formed a joint venture with
Bell Helicopter Textron
Bell Textron Inc. is an American aerospace manufacturer headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. A subsidiary of Textron, Bell manufactures military rotorcraft at facilities in Fort Worth, and Amarillo, Texas, United States as well as commercial heli ...
called the
Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company
Bell Agusta Aerospace Company (BAAC) was a joint venture formed in 1998 by Bell Helicopter and Agusta (now AgustaWestland), who collaborated on a variety of products dating back to 1952. The joint venture was dissolved in 2011, when AgustaWestlan ...
. Its aim was to develop the Bell/Agusta AB139 helicopter and the
Bell/Agusta BA609 tiltrotor aircraft. Bell later withdrew from the BA609 project, which is now known as the
AgustaWestland AW609
The Leonardo AW609, formerly the AgustaWestland AW609, and originally the Bell-Agusta BA609, is a twin-engined tiltrotor VTOL aircraft with an overall configuration similar to that of the Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey. It is capable of landing vertic ...
.
In July 2000, Finmeccanica and
GKN plc agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries (Agusta and
GKN-Westland Helicopters), forming
AgustaWestland
AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccani ...
.
It was reported on 12 February 2013 that the chief executive, Giuseppe Orsi, was arrested on corruption charges. Prosecutors allege he paid bribes to ensure the sale of 12 helicopters to the Indian government, when he was head of the group's AgustaWestland unit.
On 13 February 2013, Finmeccanica's Board of Directors named Alessandro Pansa as chief executive officer and resolved to confer the role of vice chairman to Admiral Guido Venturoni.
Shortly after Pansa's appointment, Italian investigators discovered a case of bribery by Finmeccanica in its deal with India following which the government of India issued a show cause notice to the company.
A complaint was filed seeking an investigation into the sale of 21 civil helicopters worth over Rs 7,000 crore (US$1.6 billion) by AgustaWestland between 2005 and 2013 in India. As per the complaint Agusta Westland has been selling civil helicopters in India through. Tax authorities in India have been asked to probe the possibility of tax evasion by Sharp Ocean on the commission received for the sale of helicopters and foreign exchange deprivation to the country by off-shoring payments for the sale of helicopters in India.
Separately, the comptroller and auditor general, in its latest report, has indicted the Chhattisgarh government for overpaying Rs.65 lakh (US$120,000) for the purchase of a VVIP helicopter -an Agusta A-109 Power helicopter. Both companies are promoted by twin brothers Nayan Jagjivan and Nakul Jagjivan.
Products
Aircraft
*
A.101 prototype transport helicopter
*
A.103 prototype single-seat light helicopter
*
A.104 Helicar prototype light helicopter
*
A.105 prototype light helicopter
*
A.106 light ASW helicopter
*
A109/AW109 multi-purpose helicopter
*
A.115 prototype light helicopter
*
AW119 Koala utility helicopter
*
A129 Mangusta attack helicopter
*
AZ8-L prototype
propliner/
airliner
An airliner is a type of airplane for transporting passengers and air cargo. Such aircraft are most often operated by airlines. The modern and most common variant of the airliner is a long, tube shaped, and jet powered aircraft. The largest ...
*
EMA 124 prototype light utility helicopter
*
CP-110 prototype light propeller aircraft
;Joint ventures:
*
AgustaBell AB139
*
Bell/Agusta BA609 (50% share)
*
EHI Industries EH101
*
NH90
The NHIndustries NH90 is a European medium-sized, twin-engine, multirole military helicopter. It was the first production helicopter to feature entirely fly-by-wire flight controls.Perry, Dominic"Rotor club: Our top 10 most influential helico ...
(32% share)
;Licensed production:
*
AB 47
*
AB102
*
AB204
*
AB205
*
AB206 Jet Ranger
*
AB212
*
AB412
*
AS-61
**
AS-61R
Aircraft engines
*
Agusta GA.40
*
Agusta GA.70
The Agusta GA.70 was a four-cylinder, air-cooled, horizontally opposed engine developed in Italy for light aircraft and helicopter use. The GA.70/V featured a bottom sump for vertical applications and was rated at . It was produced in the 1950s an ...
See also
*
List of Italian companies
Italy is a Unitary state, unitary parliamentary republic in Europe with the third largest nominal Gross domestic product, GDP in the Eurozone and the eighth List of countries by GDP (nominal), largest in the world. As an advanced economy, the cou ...
*
2013 Indian helicopter bribery scandal
References
External links
Official Leonardo-Finmeccanica websiteHelis.com: Agusta timelineFondazione Museo Agusta - Agusta Museum��
{{MV Agusta
Defunct aircraft manufacturers of Italy
Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of Italy
Defunct helicopter manufacturers
Helicopter manufacturers of Italy
Defence companies of Italy
Companies based in Lombardy
Province of Varese
Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1923
Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 2000
Italian companies established in 1923
2000 disestablishments in Italy
.
Leonardo S.p.A.
Italian brands