Can Vietnam AW189 be upgraded to a military version?
Currently, the 18th Army Corps has 2 extremely modern AW189 helicopters used for passenger transport missions.
The AW189 is considered the most modern helicopter in the fleet of the 18th Army Corps - Vietnam Helicopter Corporation at present.
However, few people know that the AW189 also has a military version named AW149.
The AW149 is a medium-lift military helicopter developed by AgustaWestland. Its maiden flight took place in November 2009 and it was publicly unveiled at the Paris Air Show in June 2011.
Compared with the civilian variant AW189, AW149 has significant changes to suit the function of a specialized helicopter such as the ability to transport 18 soldiers in the cargo compartment, plus an external rack to help carry additional landing support equipment.
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| AW149 utility helicopter - Military version of the AW189. |
The AW149 can carry a variety of weapons depending on customer requirements. These can be 70/80 mm rocket launchers, Brimstone air-to-ground missiles or Hellfire anti-tank missiles, in addition to 12.7 mm heavy machine gun pods or 20 mm automatic cannons.
In addition, the AW149 cabin is also equipped with a 7.62 mm machine gun, and the thermal decoy defense system is also an indispensable component. The special feature is that the AW149 can customize the weapon configuration according to the Russian or NATO system.
The aircraft is equipped with a command, control and C3 communications system to take on additional functions as a search and rescue helicopter, evacuating personnel in enemy-occupied areas or secretly dropping commandos.
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| The AW189 helicopter can be upgraded to the military version AW149 with some not too major changes. |
The AW149 helicopter's avionics suite includes a military-standard 1553B databus, a four-axis autopilot, and a medical monitoring system (HUMS). It also features a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) system, night vision goggles, and four 6 x 8-inch color liquid crystal display (AMLCD) displays.
Weather radar is installed in the nose of the aircraft, customers can optionally install fire control radar to guide air-to-ground and even air-to-ship missiles with a range of over 30 km.
The differences between the military version AW189 and AW149 are not considered too big, so if necessary, Vietnam can completely equip additional specialized equipment to turn a passenger helicopter into a professional combat helicopter.