OREANDA-NEWS. November 6, 2008. Oboronprom Corporation and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, are pleased to announce they have signed an agreement for the establishment of a 50-50 joint venture Company in Russia to set up and run a civil AW139 helicopter Final Assembly Line, for which the approval of the Russian Government is being sought, as required under the Strategic Enterprises Law

The registered office of the JV Company and the Final Assembly Line will be located in the Moscow region of Russia and the AW139s assembled there will be used to satisfy the requirements of the civil markets in Russia and CIS countries primarily and - through the AgustaWestland network – for the rest of the world.

Furthermore, UTAir of Russia has signed a Letter Of Intent for the purchase of 35 to 49 AW139 helicopters over a 5-7 year period that will be delivered from the joint venture company’s Final Assembly Line starting from 2011. UTAir is a major world helicopter operator satisfying the needs of the oil and gas industry. However, a range of other services are provided by the company including transport, operations in the forest sector and forest patrolling, search and rescue, emergency medical evacuation and aerial works.

Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, Finmeccanica Chairman and CEO, commented “This latest achievement further strengthens AgustaWestland’s position in this key market where Finmeccanica has been building a remarkable industrial base in recent years through major cooperations with prime local players. We now see relevant business opportunities in the future”.

Giuseppe Orsi, AgustaWestland CEO, said “The establishment of a JV Company in Russia with Oboronprom will be a milestone in our global strategy aimed at expanding our presence in the civil market. We are also delighted that a leading company such as UTAir has selected the AW139 to be produced in Russia to satisfy their demanding operational requirements”.

“We evaluate the signing of the document as an important event for the Russian high-technology sector. This is the evidence of more intensive cooperation of our country and Russian companies in the global contribution. In the framework of this mutually beneficial co-operation the Russian helicopter engineering sector can gain access to the advanced production technologies and high quality standards of the product support. We will strive to expand our collaboration, and by means of localization of production in Russia as well” said Andrey Reus, Director General, OPK Oboronprom.