Agusta was an Italian helicopter manufacturer founded in 1923 by Count Giovanni Agusta, who flew his first airplane in 1907. In 1952, the company began building Bell helicopters under licence. Agusta later produced aircraft under licence from manufacturers including Sikorsky, Boeing and McDonnell Douglas, becoming one of the largest helicopter manufacturers in Europe.
In July 2000, Agusta merged with Westland Helicopters to form AgustaWestland S.p.A., a multinational helicopter design and manufacturing company and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now Leonardo).
Westland focused mainly on the military market from its Yeovil, UK base. Westland became most well known for the Sea King helicopters used by UK Coast Guard and search and rescue teams; a licensed version of the Sikorsky S-61.
In 1981, Agusta and Westland started developing the EH101 naval helicopter. In 1985, Agusta collaborated with European aerospace companies to develop the NH90 multi-role, twin engine medium helicopter.
Leonardo Helicopters continues production at the Yeovil site, manufacturing helicopters including the Super Lynx 300, AW159 Wildcat and AW101 Merlin.
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