It wasn’t a bird, a plane, or a certain cape-wearing superhero that aircraft aficionados in the National Capital Region saw when they looked to the skies last month.
Instead, it was NNSA’s newest Aerial Measuring System (AMS) helicopter arriving at Joint Base Andrews. The AgustaWestland 139 (AW139) was the first of two new Leonardo-manufactured helicopters – the second arrived soon after – being delivered to the Remote Sensing Lab’s facility. The AW139s will replace two Bell 412 helicopters that have been in service nearly 30 years.
AMS aircraft – both rotary- and fixed-wing – can be deployed rapidly to respond to nuclear incidents and accidents in the United States and overseas as part of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST).