LifeFlight is about to take delivery of its 17th AW139 helicopter as the Leonardo platform prepares to mark nearly two decades of service in Australia. LifeFlight made the announcement at the RotorTech Vertical Flight Exposition on the Gold Coast, where it reaffirmed its long-standing partnership with Leonardo Helicopters.

LifeFlight's latest asset brings the total number of AW139 helicopters in the Oceania region to 80 across multiple operators and mission types. LifeFlight's partnership with Leonardo dates to 2015 when it took delivery of its first AW139. LifeFlight has committed to further Leonardo aircraft in the future, with the aeromedical organisation expecting to have one of the largest fleets in Australia by 2027.

The platform was first operated in Australia in 2008 and has become the preferred choice for aeromedical, search and rescue, law enforcement and rapid deployment missions. The aircraft have been instrumental in contributing to helping more than 90,000 people since LifeFlight's inception in 1979.

The high level of activity is matched by LifeFlight's world-class engineers, who maintain exceptional serviceability through rigorous maintenance practices ensuring aircraft are available to respond whenever they're needed. LifeFlight and Leonardo also expanded their partnership last year with the LifeFlight Clive Berghofer Maintenance Centre at Archerfield Airport in Brisbane becoming a Leonardo authorised service centre.

LifeFlight CEO and managing director Ashley van de Velde said the AW139 played a pivotal role in LifeFlight's ability to meet strong demand for its service. LifeFlight airlifted more than 8,800 people in 2025, up four per cent on the previous year, in regions across Queensland from the southeast to northwest. Total LifeFlight helicopter flying hours rose 10 per cent to more than 6,000 and missions increased by nine per cent to exceed 3,800.

“The AW139 has been central to LifeFlight's growth as one of Australia's largest aeromedical services,” Van de Velde says. “Missions and flying hours are rising year-on-year as our teams fly farther and faster into more complex situations than ever before. The partnership with Leonardo gives us the platform, engineering depth and training systems to meet that demand in safe and sustainable ways.”

Leonardo Helicopters VP sales for Asia Pacific Daniele Alzetta adds that the AW139 had consistently demonstrated reliable, safe and high-performance capability across the most demanding mission environments.

“Australia's geography and climate present unique challenges, and LifeFlight's growing fleet and rising operational frequency confirm the AW139 as the platform best suited to meet them,” he confirms. “We are proud to support LifeFlight as it expands its fleet for rapid response missions.”

At the event, LifeFlight showcased a Queensland Health medically fitted-out aircraft to display the AW139's diverse configuration capabilities for patient transfers.

LifeFlight's fleet extends beyond aeromedicine, with its special mission AW139 configured fleets providing rapid deployment for search and rescue, disaster response and aeromedical extraction. The special mission helicopters are equipped with technology to assist in challenging rescue conditions such as flash flooding.

This includes FLIR Star SAFIRE 380HD thermal imaging, dual Goodrich 600 lbs rescue hoists, Trakkabeam A800 high-intensity searchlight, removable 20-inch HD tactical mission console and NVIS-compatible cockpit and cabin for night operations.

Since 2022, LifeFlight's special mission capability has rescued hundreds of people and dozens of pets from flood, storm and cyclone events. The helicopter also pioneered the use of Australia's first animal rescue capsule for aerial pet transport.

LifeFlight has also deployed in support of the Australian Defence Force and Australian Border Force in north-western Australia, established remote operating bases within 48 hours and executed single missions spanning more than 1,000 kilometres covering remote terrain.