Agusta A129 Mangusta

Origins In 1972, the Italian Army began forming a requirement for a light observation and anti-tank helicopter; one prominent factor in shaping this requirement was the need to address the threat posed by the extensive military assets in operation with the Warsaw Pact countries and those of the Soviet Union. In 1978, Agusta formally began the design process on what would become the A129. Another version of the type was to be capable of hauling eight troops in addition to its firepower capabilities; this variant, referred to sometimes as the A139, never got off the ground. According to defence publication Jane's Information Group, by 1985, the A129 was considered to be a comparable attack helicopter to the American-built McDonnell Douglas AH-64 Apache, and showed potential on the export market. In 1986, the governments of Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate an improved version of the A129, alternatively called the Joint European Helicopter Tonal or Light Attack Helicopter (LAH). By 1988, feasibility studies for four different options had been conducted for the LAH, these would have between 80 per cent and 20 per cent growth over the initial A129; both single-engine and twin-engine configurations were examined using various new powerplants, as well as a new rotor system, retractable landing gear, improved sensors and more powerful armament. However, the LAH project collapsed in 1990 following Britain and the Netherlands independently deciding to withdraw from the program and eventually procure the AH-64 Apache instead. In September 2007, the A129I was formally redesignated as the AW129. During the Australian Army's AIR 87 project to procure a new Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter fleet, the Agusta A129 was one of the contenders; it was one of the three attack helicopters, alongside the AH-64 Apache and the Eurocopter Tiger, to be short-listed out of the six tenders submitted. In December 2001, Australia announced its selection of the Eurocopter Tiger as the winning bid. Turkey had sought a new attack helicopter since the 1990s to replace their diminished Bell AH-1 Cobra and Bell AH-1 SuperCobra fleets. Following a highly protracted selection process, in September 2007, an order was issued for 51 TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK helicopters, a variant of the A129 International. ==Design==

The A129 Mangusta is the first European attack helicopter. As such it has several original aspects to its design, such as being the first helicopter to make use of a fully computerised integrated management system to reduce crew workload. It was decided that much of the helicopter's functionality was to be automated; as such, parts of the flight and armament systems are monitored and directly controlled by onboard computers. The A129 shares considerable design similarities to Agusta's earlier A109 utility helicopter: the rear section of the A129 was derived from the A109 and incorporated to an entirely new forward section. The A129 can also be equipped with 81 mm or 70 mm (2.75 in) unguided rockets housed in pods as well as 12.7mm machine gun pods; later models also feature a M197 three-barrel 20 mm cannon that is installed onto a nose-mounted Oto Melara TM-197B turret. One key feature present on the engines is the incorporation of infrared suppressors, which act to reduce the aircraft's heat signature and thereby improve survivability. The A129 is equipped with infrared night vision systems and is capable of operating at day or night in all-weather conditions. In 1998, Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) formally partnered with Agusta to offer various avionics and weapons upgrades to potential A129 operators; various IAI technologies have since been proposed and implemented on Italian A129s. ==Operational history==

The Italian Army would receive a total of 60 A129 helicopters, deliveries of the type began in 1990. In 2011, AgustaWestland was part-way through modifying a total of 24 A129s to the new ARH-129D aerial reconnaissance standard, as well as the manufacturing of a further 24 new-built ARH-129Ds for the Italian Army. In Italian service, the Mangusta has successfully deployed on several United Nations missions in nations such as the Republic of Macedonia, Somalia and Angola. The A-129 proved to be suitable in the peacekeeping role and well-suited to operations in hot climates; the type was reported to have been highly reliable and extremely flexible during the deployment to Somalia. In November 2014, the latest variant of the A129, the AW-129D, was deployed to Afghanistan for the first time. In January 2015, the Italian Army opted for an enhancement package their existing A129s. These upgrades, which are to enter service prior to 2020, largely focused on increasing the A129's endurance, speed, situational awareness, and information-handling capabilities; other goals included a reduction in pilot workload and integrating the aircraft with future tactical UAVs. A revealed alternative that was considered and rejected was the replacement of the type with an attack-orientated variant of the newer AgustaWestland AW149 helicopter, upgrading the existing A129s was considered to be less risky and time-consuming. However, on 17 January 2017, it was announced that Italy had signed a €487 million ($515 million) contract with Leonardo for the development of a dedicated successor to the A129, the Leonardo Helicopters AW249; this shall incorporate numerous mature systems present on the A129. In March 2016, the Italian government announced that it was deploying four A129 attack helicopters and four NHIndustries NH90 transport helicopters along with 130 personnel to the Kurdistan region of Iraq to perform combat search and rescue mission as part of a multinational effort to help combat Islamic State militants within the region and specifically to protect the Mosul Dam. By 2018, it was reported that the total number of A129s still operational had fallen to 32. ==Variants==

Production models A129 Mangusta :Original production version, powered by two Rolls-Royce Gem 2 turboshaft engines. Maximum takeoff weight of 4,100 kg; 45 built for the Italian Army. A129D (AgustaWestland AW129D) :Updated version of the A129C with improved avionics, comprising multifunctional displays, and a new Rafael TopLite III optronic system in place of the original Saab HeliTow unit; the TOW missiles are replaced by the much more modern and capable Spike-ER missiles. Maximum takeoff weight of 4,600 kg; 32 A129C have been upgraded to the A129D standard. T129 ATAK :Turkish attack helicopter based on the A129 International, featuring Turkish-made avionics and weaponry. According to one source AgustaWestland designation of its first prototype is AgustaWestland AW729 —Ed. Proposed models A129 LBH :Proposed multipurpose assault version with a new cabin structure completely with space for carrying eight troops in addition to the two crew. The abbreviation LBH stands for Light Battlefield Helicopter. This version was designated A139 by Agusta. ;AH-129C :Italian military designation for the A129C from 2012. ;AH-129D :Italian military designation for the A129D from 2012. The A129 in Italian Army service has been designated as EA-1 (''Elicottero d'Attacco - Attack Helicopter 1), later changed to EC-1 (Elicottero da Combattimento - Combat Helicopter 1) and ultimately to EES-1 (Elicottero da Esplorazione e Scorta'' - Scout and Escort Helicopter 1). ==Operators==

; • Italian Army - 60 purchased as of December 2016, with 32 operational AH-129Ds in service and 16 AH-129Cs used for training as of 2018. ==Specifications (A129)==

AH-129D Mangusta armed with (from left to a right) an external fuel tank, an empty M261 rocket pod, and a missile launcher with 1× Spike-ER anti-tank guided missile ==See also==