Planes and Choppers Photos

In 1981 Agusta and Westland Aircraft of Britain jointly produced the EH101 medium-lift naval helicopter project to meet the requirements of the British Royal Navy and the Italian Navy. In 1985 the company started a collaborative programme with the aeronautical industries of France, Germany and the Netherlands in order to develop and produce the NHI NH90 helicopter. In 1998 Agusta formed a joint venture with Bell Helicopter Textron called the Bell/Augusta Aerospace Company, intending to develop the Bell/Agusta AB139 helicopter and the BA609 tilt-rotor aircraft. Bell later withdrew from the AB139 project, which is now known as the AgustaWestland AW139. In 2000 Finmeccanica and GKN plc agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries (Agusta and GKN-Westland Helicopters), forming AgustaWestland.