Flight International has obtained pictures showing an Italian army AgustaWestland A129C Mangusta scout and escort helicopter being loaded into an air force Lockheed Martin C-130J transport for the first time, ahead of the aircraft’s urgent deployment to Afghanistan.
Loaded onto a 46th Air Brigade-operated stretched fuselage C-130J-30 at Orio al Serio airport near Milan in late November, the aircraft was required to replace another Mangusta which had been operating with the Italian military contingent in Afghanistan. The Italian army’s Friuli Airmobile Brigade deployed five A129Cs to the country’s Herat province last June as part of Rome’s commitment to the NATO International Security Assistance Force.
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All images © Italian army |
The A129’s main and tail rotor blades were removed for the flight, with other components having been stabilised to protct them during the long-range deployment and possible tactical landing.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
