A-129, Italian attack helicopter

[A1Kaid]

Agusta A129 Mangusta CBT Mongoose - YouTube


A-129 is a very impressive attack helicopter, especially the CBT variant. A-129 Mangusta has been used in Albania and Somalia in the 1990's for peacekeeping missions.

Data from Wiki

General characteristics

Crew: 2: pilot and weapon systems officer
Length: 12.28 m (40 ft 3 in)
Rotor diameter: 11.90 m (39 ft 1 in)
Height: 3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
Disc area: 111.22 m² (1,197.25 ft²)
Empty weight: 2,530 kg (5,575 lb)
Max. takeoff weight: 4,600 kg (10,140 lb)
Powerplant: 2 × Rolls-Royce Gem 2-1004D (license built by Piaggio) turboshafts, 664 kW (890 shp) each
Rotor systems: 4 blades on main rotor

Performance

Maximum speed: 278 km/h (148 knots, 170 mph)
Cruise speed: 229 km/h (135 knots, 155 mph)
Range: 510 km (275 nm, 320 mi)
Ferry range: 1,000 km (540 nm, 620 mi)
Service ceiling: 4,725 m (15,500 ft)
Rate of climb: 10.2 m/s (2,025 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) M197 three-barrel gatling-type cannon (500 rounds) in a TM197B Light Turreted Gun System(only CBT version)
Rockets: 4 pods with
38× 81 mm (3.19 in) unguided rockets or
76× 70 mm (2.75 in) unguided rockets or
12.7 mm machine gun-pod
Missiles:
8× AGM-114 Hellfire or BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles
4-8× AIM-92 Stinger or Mistral anti-aircraft missiles

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agusta_A129_Mangusta

 

[A1Kaid]

Partenza Agusta-Westland AW-129 Mangusta. Exponiamo Dalmine (BG) - YouTube



A round from it's armament gun can probably penetrate through many tank armors alone.



Just to be sure if I'm correct, the gunner sits in the front seat, and the pilot sits in the back right? In the Eurocopter pilot is in the front and gunner is in the back, which is quite odd anyone know why Eurocopter adopted this seating configuration?