Saudi Aramco (Aramco), a global petrochemical company, is renewing the medium helicopter fleet of its subsidiary Aramco Overseas Company with 17 AW139s plus four options.

The aircraft will be leased from Milestone Leasing, which has signed a contract with Leonardo following a competitive tender to facilitate the delivery of the 21 aircraft over three years.

Milestone says it is the largest owner or financier of civil Leonardo helicopters in the world, having leased its first Leonardo in 2010. Its fleet will exceed 100 Leonardo aircraft once this transaction is complete.

Milestone's relationship with Aramco began in 2016 with the lease of three new AW139s, which was the energy company's first helicopter lease.

"We appreciate Aramco's trust in us and are delighted to enable this significant fleet renewal programme with a uniquely tailored operating lease solution," says Milestone president and CEO Daniel Rosenthal. "We credit our highly productive relationship with Leonardo and its very strong family of aircraft for allowing us to meet the complex introduction into service and operating requirements of the customer."

Leonardo MD Gian Piero Cutillo adds: "We are very pleased Aramco has continued to put its trust in the AW139 to meet its helicopter needs. We look forward to working with the skilled technical team to bring this large and varied fleet into service."

Aramco has been operating a fleet of 14 AW139 helicopters since 2008 and seven AW109 light twins since 2006, mainly to perform offshore transport missions in Saudi Arabia in support of the oil and gas industry. The AW139s on order will enable the company to stay on top of the latest technology and the aircraft offers strong performance, reliability, safety, versatility and ample cabin space. The aircraft has favourable one engine inoperative capabilities in hot and high operating conditions, making it well suited for Aramco's operations.

The 21 deliveries to Aramco will be configured for a range of mission types including oil and gas and SAR.