Agusta A129 Mangusta The Agusta A129 Mangusta ( ) is an attack helicopter originally designed and produced by Agusta in Italy . It was the first attack helicopter to be designed and produced wholly in Western Europe . The TAI / AgustaWestland T - 129 ATAK is a derivative version of the A129 , and its development is the responsibility of Turkish Aerospace Industries ( TAI ) , with AgustaWestland as the primary partner . Development . Origins . The Italian Army began to form a need for a light observation and anti - tank helicopter in 1972 ; at the same time , West Germany had a similar need . The nations ' requirements led to a joint project between the Italian company Agusta and West Germany company MBB ; however , the joint effort ended after preliminary work . Agusta had initially studied an A109 - based design , but decided upon proceeding with a more ambitious helicopter . The company began design work on the A129 in 1978 . The first of five A129 prototypes took the type ' s maiden flight on 11 September 1983 , and the fifth prototype first flew in March 1986 . The Italian Army ordered a total of 60 A129s . Export market . In 1986 , the governments of Italy , the Netherlands , Spain and the United Kingdom signed a memorandum of understanding to investigate an improved version of the A129 , called the Joint European Helicopter Tonal . ( " Tonal " was derived from the name of an Aztec deity . ) The Tonal was to have more powerful engines , a new rotor system , retractable landing gear , improved sensors and more powerful armament . However , the project collapsed in 1990 when Britain and the Netherlands decided to obtain the AH - 64 Apache instead . Spain has since acquired the Eurocopter Tiger . An export version , the A129 International ( A129I ) , is a lower - cost helicopter with added firepower and upgraded avionics . In September 2007 , the A129I was redesignated the AW129 . In the Australian Army ' s AIR 87 project to acquire Armed Reconnaissance Helicopters , the Agusta A129 , the AH - 64 Apache , and the Eurocopter Tiger were short - listed from the six original tenders . In December 2001 it was announced that the contract was awarded to the Eurocopter Tiger . Design . The A129 Mangusta is the first European attack helicopter ; as such it has several original aspects to its design , such as being the first helicopter to make use of a fully computerised integrated management system to reduce crew workload . It was decided that much of the helicopter ' s functionality was to be automated ; as such , parts of the flight and armament systems are monitored and directly controlled by onboard computers . The A129 shares considerably design similarities to the Agusta A109 utility helicopter ; the entire rear half of the A129 was directly derived from the A109 and incorporated to an entirely new forward section . The A129 can be used in the anti - armour , armed reconnaissance , ground attack , escort , fire support and anti - aircraft roles . In the anti - armour role , the helicopter can carry armaments such as up to eight Hellfire missiles . The A129 can also be equipped with 81 mm or 70 mm ( 2 . 75 in ) unguided rockets and has a M197 three - barrel 20 mm cannon in a turret mounted under its nose . The A129 ' s fuselage is highly angular and armoured for ballistic protection ; the composite rotor blades are also able to withstand hits from 23mm cannon fire . The two man crew , comprising a pilot and gunner , sit in a conventional tandem cockpit . The A129 is equipped with infrared night vision systems , enabling night time operations . Power is provided by a pair of Rolls - Royce Gem 2 - 1004D turboshaft engines , which incorporates protective measures such as to reduce the helicopter ' s infrared heat signature . 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 7º AVES Rgt . " Vega " ( based in Rimini ) , part of the Friuli Air Assault Brigade . Three helicopters were deployed in Iraq to provide air support for the Italian forces in Nassiriya . Several A129s have been stationed in Afghanistan , supporting Italian Army forces during combat in the region .