Finland's border guard has ordered a fourth AW119Ke equipped for special operations and patrol in the Arctic Circle's harsh environmental and weather conditions.

The first three helicopters ordered will enter service during the third quarter of 2010 and will operate from Helsinki and Rovaniemi to cover the entire Finnish/Russian border.

"They will be fitted with dedicated tactical equipment and certified to perform missions using night vision goggles," the government says. "The AW119Ke has a patrol time of about five hours and also has the largest cabin in its class which can be quickly reconfigured for different missions. It will guard territorial waters as well as land borders and perform SAR operations as well as fire fighting duties."

The Finnish border guard, which is responsible for internal security, operates the AB206 JetRanger and AB412 helicopters.

It says: "The border guard will be provided with a tailored training and support package as part of the purchasing contract."