Leonardo AW189

Updated: October 2026 – A large, slim helicopter in red and white hovers over the coast, the hoist is extended, and a rescuer hangs from the cable below: in Britain or Ireland that is very likely a Leonardo AW189. The “super-medium” helicopter in the eight-ton class is built for long flights over open water – as a search and rescue aircraft as well as a shuttle to drilling rigs and wind farms. Here you learn how the AW189 came about, how to recognize it, how to tell it from its competitors and where you are most likely to get it in front of your lens.

What is the Leonardo AW189?

The AW189 is a twin-engine multirole helicopter in the eight-ton class. In the Leonardo lineup it sits above the widely used AW139 and below the three-engine AW101. At this size the industry speaks of “super-medium”: clearly more cabin and range than a medium helicopter, but less weight and cost than a heavyweight.

The standard AW189 is powered by two General Electric CT7-2E1 turboshafts – you can find more on the engine maker on the page on GE Aerospace. As an alternative there is the AW189K with two Aneto-1Ks from Safran. Leonardo quotes a maximum takeoff weight of 8,300 kilograms, with the option, or as the AW189K, 8,600 kilograms. The five-blade main rotor measures 14.60 meters, and with the rotors turning the helicopter is 17.57 meters long. The manufacturer quotes the maximum cruise speed as 294 km/h.

According to Leonardo, the cabin holds up to 19 passengers, or 16 under the offshore standard of the IOGP association. With a volume of 11.2 cubic meters, the manufacturer calls it the widest in its class. It is accessed through large sliding doors on both sides, and baggage travels in a separate compartment loaded from outside.

Leonardo highlights two technical details in particular. The main gearbox keeps running for 50 minutes after a complete loss of oil, enough for about 100 nautical miles of return flight from a platform. And a built-in auxiliary power unit (Safran e-APU, 60 kW) supplies power with the rotors stopped and serves as a reserve in flight, for example during hoist operations. A full ice protection system is also available for flights in icing conditions.

Development: from the military AW149 to the civil AW189

The AW189 has a military brother. AgustaWestland first developed the AW149, an enlarged descendant of the AW139 for armed forces. From it the company derived a civil version, tailored to offshore transport, search and rescue and passenger flights. The AW189 was unveiled in June 2011 at the Paris Air Show.

Just half a year later, on December 21, 2011, the first prototype took off in Cascina Costa, the former Agusta’s long-established helicopter plant not far from Milan Malpensa Airport. Four prototypes and two pre-production aircraft were used for testing. In June 2013, AgustaWestland announced series production, and a second production line was set up in Yeovil, England, the former Westland site.

Milestone	Date
Unveiling at the Paris Air Show	June 2011
First flight in Cascina Costa	December 21, 2011
EASA type certification	February 2014
First commercial flight (Bristow)	July 2014
FAA certification	March 2015
Certification in Russia (IAC)	August 2015
EASA certification of the AW189K	June 2020

An important building block was the family idea. Leonardo deliberately gave the AW139, AW169 and AW189 a similar design: the same design language, comparable cockpit logic, similar maintenance procedures. Operators that fly several sizes save on training and engineering as a result. For spotters this has a downside: the three types look strikingly alike, more on that below.

Not everything went smoothly. Development of the ice protection was slower than planned, which delayed the AW189’s introduction into the British SAR service with Bristow in 2015. In September 2015 the AW189 first received certification for a limited ice protection system, followed by icing trials in Alaska.

The AW189K: more power for hot regions

In October 2017, Leonardo announced the AW189K. Instead of the GE turbines, it has two Safran Aneto-1K engines, which deliver more power and, according to the plans at the time, were meant to have lower specific fuel consumption than the GE turbines. The variant is intended mainly for operating areas with high temperatures or great altitude, where turbines lose power. EASA certification came in June 2020, and the launch customer was Gulf Helicopters of Qatar.

From the outside the difference is barely visible. For your sighting, “AW189” is usually enough; if you want to be exact, compare the registration against a fleet database.

The four features that are enough to identify it

There are several large twins with wheels and a five-blade rotor. With the AW189, four observations in this order help you.

The final certainty, as always, comes from the registration. British SAR aircraft carry G registrations, whose system is explained in the article British G registrations. You will find general information on how registrations are structured under Understanding aircraft registrations.

AW189, AW139 or AW169? Telling the family apart

The biggest risk of confusion comes from within the family. All three Leonardo types have five main rotor blades, an open tail rotor, retractable wheeled gear and the same design line.

Feature	AW169	AW139	AW189
Weight class	light twin	medium class	super-medium, about 8 t
Impression in the field	compact	balanced	long and bulky
Typical role in central Europe	air rescue, police	air rescue, offshore, government	SAR, offshore
ICAO code	A169	A139	A189

Without something to compare it to, size is hard to judge. So look for people, vehicles or hangar doors nearby. The smaller siblings are presented in detail on the pages for the AW139 and the AW169. The guide How to recognize helicopter types gives an overview of all common rotorcraft.

AW189, H175, H225 or S-92?

In the offshore and SAR world, the AW189 competes mainly with the Airbus H175, the heavier Airbus H225 and the Sikorsky S-92. The finder helps you narrow it down.

Where you meet the AW189

The AW189 works where coastal rescue and the offshore industry are at home. On the observation deck of an inland airport you will rarely see it.

UK Coast Guard: Bristow Helicopters flies search and rescue missions on behalf of HM Coastguard. Alongside S-92s and AW139s, AW189s are part of the fleet, which according to the common reference works is stationed at bases such as Prestwick, Inverness, Lydd, Lee-on-Solent and St Athan. The second-generation follow-on contract, also with Bristow, has been running since November 2024.

Irish Coast Guard: Bristow Ireland has taken over a ten-year contract for the Irish Coast Guard. The new service with six AW189s started in August 2025, and the bases named are Waterford, Sligo, the Dublin area and Shannon. Full takeover from the previous fleet was planned for early 2026.

Offshore operations: Bristow had floated the AW189 as the successor to its Super Pumas as early as 2013 and was the launch operator. Other early customers were Weststar Aviation in Malaysia and Gulf Helicopters in Qatar. Offshore contracts change frequently, so before a trip it is worth checking current operator information.

Other missions: The AW189 also flies for police and government agencies, as a VIP helicopter and in SAR service in the Falkland Islands, where two aircraft have replaced the former Sea Kings.

Place	Chance of a hit	Why
SAR bases in the UK	high	Coast guard AW189s, regular training flights
SAR bases in Ireland	high	new AW189 fleet of the Irish Coast Guard
Offshore bases on the North Sea	medium	depending on current contract and operator
Leonardo plant near Malpensa	medium	testing and delivery flights
German commercial airports	low	ferry flights rather rare

Many SAR and offshore helicopters transmit ADS-B data and therefore show up on flight tracking services. How to search specifically for rescue, police and offshore flights is explained in the article Finding helicopters on the flight tracker.

Spotting destination northern Italy: the AW189’s home

If you want to experience Leonardo helicopters at their source, head to the area around Malpensa. The plant in Cascina Costa is in the immediate vicinity of the airport, so test and factory flights are no rarity in the region. There is no guarantee of an AW189 sighting, though.

The aviation museum Volandia right at the airport, located on a former aviation industry site, offers a good setting for such a trip. The matching spot entry Volandia at Milan Malpensa Airport shows you what you can get in front of your lens there.

Photo tips especially for the AW189

With helicopters, the shutter speed decides. If a very short exposure freezes the rotor, the AW189 looks like a model hanging in the air. With five blades, though, the rotor disc fills in quickly, so even moderately long speeds show nice motion.

The technique is the same as for propeller aircraft; details are in the guide Photographing propellers: the right shutter speed. You will find general tips on rotorcraft in the article Spotting helicopters. How to plan light and spot together is shown in the article Planning the sun position. With the sun position planner and the weather and wind information in Planetrack, you see before the trip which direction the light and the approach come from.

Common mix-ups and how to rule them out

With military variants and government aircraft, different rules often apply on site. What you need to keep in mind when photographing near military facilities is covered in the article Photographing military airfields: rules.

Conclusion

The AW189 is Leonardo’s answer to the question of how much helicopter you need for long flights over open water: enough cabin for almost twenty people, a gearbox with large reserves, ice protection and an auxiliary power unit for long hoist operations. As a rescuer for the British and Irish coast guards, it is the best-known sight for spotters in western Europe, and in the offshore business it turns up depending on the contract. Five main rotor blades, the four-blade tail rotor, the retractable wheeled gear and the slim Leonardo nose give you the type, and size and registration the confirmation.