AgustaWestland has opened an office in the Seoul to capitalize on recent sales success in South Korea. The subsidiary of Italian group Finmeccanica has about 50 helicopters of various types in service or on order there in military, parapublic or commercial roles. These include eight AW159 Wildcat maritime helicopters for the Republic of Korea Navy–the first export sale of this type. The manufacturer hopes that this order may be expanded. The AW139 is selling well for commercial applications.

AgustaWestland (Booth H39) says that it is ready to meet Korea’s new light-armed helicopter requirement by helping local industry to develop a state-of-the-art platform.