The Bulgarian Border Police has taken delivery of its first AW109 Power light twin helicopter during an official ceremony held at Sofia Airport today in the presence of Representatives of the Bulgarian Government. This helicopter will provide a reliable air surveillance capability on the outer EU borders, since Bulgaria is expected to be a Schengen Zone Member starting from March 2011. Thanks to the AW109 Power’s outstanding features, the Bulgarian Border Police will be able to enhance airborne law enforcement capabilities in the Country. An additional two AW109 Powers, recently ordered by the Ministries of Finance and Interior of Bulgaria, for the Bulgarian Border Police will follow, further expanding the helicopter fleet of the service. The Bulgarian Border Police also bought an AW139 medium twin helicopter in late 2009, confirming the success of the AgustaWestland’s range of law enforcement helicopters.

The AW109 Power is equipped with an impressive range of state-of-the-art avionics and mission-dedicated equipment including a NVG-compatible cockpit, moving map display, weather radar, searchlight, external loudspeaker, provision for FLIR, digital video downlink, video recorder and mission console. The ability to change the interior configuration provides exceptional versatility to support the range of law enforcement roles. With a maximum cruise speed of 154 kts (285 Km/h) and a range of 512 nm (948 km), the AW109 Power offers superior rapid reaction capabilities, area coverage and endurance. The AW109 Power law enforcement is designed to perform a wide range of security duties to meet the changing demands of law enforcement: patrol, surveillance and tactical operations, state border control, counter terrorism, search and rescue, armed interdiction and other homeland security missions.