New Zealand-based operator Northern Rescue has signed lease agreements with Milestone Aviation Group for two Leonardo AW169s in what the company calls a significant step towards updating and standardising its fleet of EMS/SAR aircraft.

The helicopters will be delivered over the next nine months and will operate critical air ambulance missions from Northern Rescue's bases across the greater Auckland and Northland regions. The helicopters are fitted with the latest medical equipment in large, easy-to-reconfigure cabins, allowing clinical teams to deliver lifesaving care to patients.

Northern Rescue is a joint venture between the Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and the Northland Emergency Services Trust and is the contracted provider to Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) for emergency air ambulance helicopter services in the northern region of Aotearoa New Zealand.

CEO Ian MacPherson says: “Leasing the two aircraft from Milestone marks a significant step towards updating and standardising the fleet of EMS/SAR aircraft across Auckland and Northland, ensuring that our communities continue to receive the highest level of care and service possible. We are grateful that Milestone has identified the opportunity to enhance the New Zealand EMS sector, and we look forward to working closely with it into the future.

"Northern Rescue acknowledges that this deal would not have been possible without the support and cooperation of the Crown funders, Health New Zealand | Te Whatu Ora and the Accident Compensation Corporation, together with our two trusts, Auckland Rescue Helicopter Trust and Northland Emergency Services Trust. Not to mention the public of Auckland and Northland for their decades of unwavering support."

Milestone CCO Sébastien Moulin adds: "We are delighted to welcome Northern Rescue as a new customer to Milestone and to place our first aircraft in New Zealand. The AW169 is well suited to support Northern Rescue's fleet renewal programme as it is configured to place patient needs at the heart of its design. We thank Ian MacPherson and the Northern Rescue team for the confidence they have placed in Milestone, and we look forward to working together as these aircraft deliver."

Northern Rescue plans to have four AW169s and one Sikorsky S76 in service across both bases by September 2025.