Philadelphia, United States, and Vergiate, Italy; those destined for customers within the Commonwealth of Independent States are typically assembled by a third final manufacturing plant in Tomilino, Moscow operated by HeliVert. Operational history The Irish Air Corps was the first military operator to introduce the AW139; it took delivery of the first of a batch of six rotorcraft during August 2006. The United Arab Emirates Air Force and the Qatar Air Force became the second and third military operators of the AW139, procuring 9 and 18 rotorcraft respectively. A specialised military variant, the AW139M, was subsequently launched, for which the Italian Air Force became the launch customer. Designated HH-139A in Italian service, the type has been primarily tasked with combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations. The Italian Coast Guard also placed repeat orders for the type throughout the 2010s, having reportedly ordered a total of 12 AW139s by mid-2016. During February 2006, Mitsui Bussan Aerospace signed a $100 million contract for 12 AW139s and an exclusive distribution agreement for the AW139 in Japan. In October 2006, the Japan Coast Guard announced its selection of the AW139 as the replacement for its Bell 212 search and rescue fleet; by early 2011, 18 AW139s were on order by the Japan Coast Guard through Mitsui Bussan as the distributor, a total of 24 are expected to be ordered."AgustaWestland receives orders for 8 more AW139 helicopters." Shephard Media, 9 March 2011. The Japanese National Police Agency placed multiple orders for the AW139; other organisations in the nation have used the type for electronic news gathering, firefighting, disaster relief operations. During 2016, Leonardo announced that the 50th AW139 to the Japanese market had been delivered. In March 2017, the delivery of the first Japanese VIP-configured AW139 took place to an undisclosed customer. In the North American market, CHC Helicopter was the first operator of the type. In 2012, CHC became the largest operator of the AW139 in the world, at that point operating a fleet of 44 in search and rescue, emergency medical service and offshore transport missions. In 2015, responsibility for the maintenance of CHC's AW139 fleet was reorganized under their maintenance, repair and overhaul services (MRO) division, Heli-One; early activities have included post-delivery modifications and engine overhauls. Heli-One has endeavoured to expand the scope of its MRO in coordination with Leonardo Helicopters, becoming an authorized component repair center by the company, and become