Airbus lines up H145M Spike ER2 live fire tests
The H145M helicopter takes flight during a live fire demonstration at Hungary’s Bakony Combat Training Center (Photo: Airbus)
Airbus wants to add to the lethality of the H145M multirole helicopter by adding Rafael’s Spike ER2 fifth-generation precision-guided missile.
Airbus has revealed exclusively to Shephard that it plans to test-fire the Spike ER2 (Extended Range 2) fifth-generation multipurpose missile from H145M helicopters in Q2 2022.
The weapon has already undergone system integration evaluations and flight tests with the aircraft at company facilities in Donauwörth to assess aerodynamics, drag, vibration and performance, according to Mark Henning, H145M programme manager at Airbus.
The manufacturer is still to decide on a location for the customer test-fire event, but it hopes to use a site in central Europe.
‘We’ve been flying [with Spike ER2] since last year, which includes [integration of] the
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