AgustaWestland parent company Finmeccanica announced an order yesterday for 160 AW189 medium twins from Russian oil company Rosneft. The deal was inked on December 29 and includes integrated services, such as maintenance and training, for customers in Russia and CIS countries.

These helicopters will be supplied mainly through HeliVert, a joint venture between AgustaWestland and Russian Helicopters, which is a subsidiary of Rostec. HeliVert will handle final assembly of Rosneft's AW189s at its Tomlino plant near Moscow, using subassemblies provided by AgustaWestland.

The AW189 was certified by the EASA last February and Bristow placed the first two of the new medium-twin helicopters into service in July.