Operational History
The Italian Army received 60 A129s beginning in 1990, and has been the only operator. In January 2002, AgustaWestland was awarded a contract to upgrade the first 45 A129A version to the multi-role A129 CBT standard. The first A129CBTs were delivered in October 2002. By 2007, the Italian Army had 45 A129A and 15 A129CBT helicopters.
In Italian service, the Mangusta has successfully deployed with UN missions to the Republic of Macedonia, Somalia and Angola. In Somalia, during the battle called of "Checkpoint Pasta" (because it was near an abandoned pasta factory), an A129 launched a single TOW missile which hit a vehicle carrying Somali insurgents, killing several. It equips the 5th AVES Regiment "Rigel" (based at Casarsa della Delizia, Friuli) and the 7ยบ AVES Rgt. "Vega" (based in Rimini), part of the Friuli Air Assault Brigade. Three helicopters were deployed in Iraq before the Italian expedition's withdrawal. Twelve Mangustas are currently deployed in Afghanistan.
Read more about this topic: Agusta A129 Mangusta
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