- Yes
- No
General Info
The history of the A129 International began during the late stages of the cold war, once the first versions of the A129 Mangusta entered service inside of the Italian armed forces, they were well liked by the users so later down the line, Agusta had generated a lot of interest for this type of helicopter. Although some nations were interested in the base version of the A129, nothing really came out of it so Agusta developed a newer version of the A129 Mangusta in line with export market specifications and needs. This new version of the A129 would go under the designation A129 “International”, likely named that way to attract customers. The A129 International has been designed to meet a wide variety of missions under all-weather conditions, day or night. These ranged from armed scout and reconnaissance to high-intensity, and air to ground and air to air capability. One of the many great qualities of this variant according to Agusta employee’s was that the A129 International would be much more than just your regular light antitank helicopter, it would also be the most cost effective combat rotorcraft in its class. This was clearly a defining factor as unlike nations such as the US, Italy would target its military vehicles to also nations who might not have a big budget to spend on their militaries. That said, it also meant regular militiaries could buy more units of the aircraft if needed which would be able to do the same things vehicles of the era, such as the AH-64 Apache, at a much lower cost. The A129 International would prove this by begining to intergrate many different weapon systems that at the time, were the best if not one of the best in their class. Weapon systems such as Hellfire and TOW ATGM’s came standard with the helicopter, however what was more interesting was the intergration of air to air missiles, such as the stinger or mistral. During the development of the International, the aircraft would undergo several variations on usually the same air-frame, each version intergrating different armaments. Some other changes also included different types of thermal imaging sights, a .50 cal turret, an enclosed triple .50 cal turret, or what is now staple of the A129CBT, the 20 mm M197 three-barrel Gatling-type rotary cannon. All International variants had access to the LHTEC T800 engine, which was an improvement from the base variant of the Mangusta. It allowed the International to have a higher top speed and overall output to reach its surface ceilling quicker than the base variant.
A129 International (Spike)
As said above, the A129 International was configured with multiple different types of armaments over the years of its development, one of the lesser known ones being the intergration of Israeli made Spike ATGM’s, which this specific version has access to x8 of them, 4 on each side. According to an ex-Agusta employee, It would first be presented inside of an international military expo in Abu Dhabi in the year 1990, most likely to see if other countries would be interested in acquiring this version and putting it in service in their respective armed forces. The Intergration of Spike however was done previously in Israel, where other armaments have also likely been intergrated druing the process. Due to this variant being a prototype and most likely just done to test on how Spikes would perform on the Mangusta, it was not adopted in this version by Italy or any other nation. What was instead likely done was use the information gathered to develop future projects, and also to add a new weapon system being availible to the International if a customer required the intergation. Interstingly enough, we’d see the futre production variant of the A129 Mangusta, such as the A129 ‘Delta’ mounting the Spikes in its upgrade it received to modernize the older CBT’s that they had in service. In terms of what this variant had access to, its more defining feature would be the introduction of the Israeli made Spike ATGM’s, which depending on the variant it mounted can prove to be very potent weapons. Sadly the only picture availible i’ve managed to find only shows it with this armament installed, we can safely assume it still retained the general payload options as any A129, which included a variety of unguided rockets, ATGM’s such as the TOW and Hellfire, and air-to-air missiles such as the stinger. In International fashion it would also be outfitted with the American made LHTEC T800 Turboshaft engine, which was a major improvement from the first engines the A129 used. In terms of speed, the LTEC T800 engines allowed the A129 to go at a speed of 305 km/h (at 1000 metres) and gave the A129 a max altitude of 5400 metres. Lastly, for its thermal/night imaging, this specific version would use a modified Hughes made sight that would be installed at the front of the helicopter. For counter measures, It had also likely kept everything from before, such as an IR jammer and also a laser warning ricever. Installation of flares and chaff was most likely available if needed but by the singular available photo, its unclear if it would actually go on and mount them.
Specifications
Why it should be in game
More Mangusta’s that could be added as either events or more premiums for Italy, although if gaijin wanted to they could add them as TT researchable vehicles. They’re all very different from one another, and sporting unique armaments and camos that aren’t usually seen in other helicopters. Also since gaijin has already added 1 A129 international in game, it would be much easier to add more because they ideally wouldn’t start from scratch.
Sources
Spoiler
Various Jane books/Articles
Aviation Week & Space Technology 29 July 1996
Official Agusta A129 International Brochure
VOLANDO Mangusta 186
Mattioli Marco A 129 Mangusta Italian Attack Helicopter. Special 8. IBN Editore. 2004
Aviones y Helicopteros De Guerra n 35 A129-Mangusta
Aviolibri Special 8 A129 Mangusta, Italian attack helicopter
AW-129 Mangusta - Militarypedia
https://www.aviatorsdatabase.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/A129-INTERNATIONAL-MULTI-ROLE-COMBAT-HELICOPTER-ITALY.pdf
Indian Strategic Studies: “Rafael provides a complete solution of air and missile threats” - Oron Oriol
Agusta A129 variants | Page 2 | Secret Projects Forum
AgustaWestland AW129 - Wikipedia
https://www.army-technology.com/projects/agusta/
AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta & Airbus Helicopter Tiger
TM 197B
Agusta A-129 Mangusta
Spike (missile) - Wikipedia