• Naval Warfare

  China launches the first of multiple Type 075 LHDs

  25th September 2019

  China launched its first ever landing helicopter dock (LHD) at the Huangpu-Zhonghua Shipyard in Shanghai on the morning of 25 September, greatly furthering the future …

• Training

  Leonardo and CAE team to offer helicopter training to the US

  9th September 2019

  Leonardo and CAE USA have teamed to collaborate to offer integrated helicopter training for the US government market.  A memorandum of agreement (MoA) has been …

• Defence Helicopter

  Pilot rescue training onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth

  10th September 2019

  UK Royal Marines and Commando Helicopter Force (CHF) have been carrying out training to recue downed pilots from the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier HMS Queen …

• Defence Helicopter

  Indian LUH soars to new heights

  9th September 2019

  In a significant milestone, the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has demonstrated its ‘hot and high’ performance at Himalayan landing …

• Defence Notes

  MSPO2019: Poland lines up transport aircraft and anti-tank missile haul

  6th September 2019

  The Polish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has submitted two letters of request (LoR) to the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency relating to the planned procurement …

• Defence Helicopter

  Engines ordered for CH-53K

  11th September 2019

  GE Aviation will supply engines for the US Marine Corps under a $143.6 million contract modification awarded by the US Department of Defense. The company …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2019: Shrinking of UK rotary power opens up capability criticism

  4th September 2019

  From a statistical point of view the UK’s rotary fleet has dropped by 50 aircraft over the last three years equating to a current overall …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2019: Poland breathes life into Kruk programme again

  19th August 2019

  The Polish MoD plans to launch the long-touted tender for the procurement of 32 attack helicopters under the so-called Kruk programme. The multi-billion project is …

• Land Warfare

  DSEI 2019: UVision looks to extend loitering munition CONOPS

  17th September 2019

  Israeli company UVision displayed a mock-up of a special operations vehicle (SOV) equipped with multiple Hero 30 launchers at DSEI 2019, as it seeks to …

• Naval Warfare

  New Asian-built LPDs for Thailand and Myanmar

  11th September 2019

  Two neighbouring Southeast Asian countries are adding LPDs to their naval fleets and both are procuring them from Asian shipbuilders in different countries. There is …

• Land Warfare

  Malaysia to nix helicopter and SPH purchases

  4th September 2019

  The Malaysian government is looking to cancel procurement of six MD 530G helicopters from Destini Berhad and MD Helicopters, as well as 29 M109A5 SPHs …

• Defence Helicopter

  DSEI 2019: Bringing rotary-wing to the big deck

  3rd September 2019

  Fixed-wing fast jets are not the only aircraft that will operate from the flight decks of the Royal Navy’s (RN) new Queen Elizabeth class (QEC) aircraft carriers and …

• Defence Helicopter

  MSPO 2019: Leonardo puts W-3 Sokól upgrade offer on the table

  4th September 2019

  PZL Swidnik, under parent company Leonardo and in collaboration with the Polish Armaments Group has proposed a W-3 Sokół upgrade to the country’s MoD - as …

• Defence Helicopter

  MD contracted for Afghan Cayuse Warrior support

  30th August 2019

  MD Helicopters has been awarded a $50.4 million contract modification for logistics support of the Afghan Air Force’s (AAF) MD 530F Cayuse Warrior rotorcraft fleet. …

• Training

  EDA to establish Multinational Helicopter Training Centre

  11th September 2019

  The European Defence Agency (EDA) will establish a new Multinational Helicopter Training Centre (MHTC) in Sintra, Portugal, by the end of 2022.Together with 18 of …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M - France

  Programme Background In April 2021, the French government signed a deal for the purchase of eight H225M Airbus helicopters to replace its ageing fleet of SA330 ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M [Ireland]

  Programme Background On 30 December 2024 Ireland announced a contract with Airbus for four new H145M helicopters to replace the Air Corps existing fleet of ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  TH-73 Advanced Helicopter Training System - AHTS (TH-57 Replacement)

  Contenders for the competition included the Leonardo single engine TH-119 – a military variant of the AW119Kx – and Bell’s newly upgraded single engine 407GXi. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145 Helicopter [Honduras]

  Programme Background  The Honduran Government has purchased a total of four H145 Helicopters manufactured by Airbus to develop the armed forces preparedness against natural disasters ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Maritime Operations Helicopters

  The three maritime operations helicopters will be used for logistics and personnel transport, alongside transportation of PASKAL naval special forces in operations in the area. ...

• Military helicopters - light/training

  SW4 Puszczyk Replacement [Poland]

  Programme Background  In 2002, Poland order 47 SW4 training helicopters from Italian manufacturer Leonardo; as of Spring 2025, the Ministry of Defence is looking to ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Bell 412EPI-Indonesia

  Programme Background PTDI is assembling Bell helicopters in its factory in Bandung.  The first Bell 412EPI was delivered to Indonesian Army on 29 December 2020 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Kondor Naval Helicopters (Poland)

  Programme Background In 2018, the Polish MoD announced its requirement to purchase up to eight naval helicopters to replace in-service SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopters. Polish ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  Spain HT-29 Caiman (NH90 TTH) - Army First Batch

  HT-29 Caiman GSPAs (NH90 TTH) will be assembled at Airbus Helicopters’ facility in Albacete and will replace AS332 Super Puma fleet in service. Even though ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  According to the media reports, Airbus couldn't provide a competitive offer for the programme due to the offset requirements.  The deliveries were to be completed ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  AH-X [Japan]

  There is no mention of the AH-X in the 2019-2023 Medium Term Defence Plan, so it is possible that the requirement has quietly been postponed. ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H135 (UK)

  Programme BackgroundAirbus Helicopters UK announced on 2 February 2022 that it has won an order to provide five additional H135 twin-engine helicopters for the MoD. The ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH-90 [Spain]

  Programme Background Along with a range of other air programmes, the Spanish Government announced the nation has set aside 1 billion euros (USD$1.162 billion) to ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  Ka-226T-India-Air Force

  An official contract announcement is expected during the Aero India 2021 exhibition in Bangalore, although negotiations have dragged on for more than five years and ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M (Contracted) [Germany]

  Programme Background Previous Usage The German Armed Forces ordered 15 H145M helicopters, with the initial two delivered in December 2015, for the Kommando Spezialkräfte. These ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - light/training

  H145

  The light, twin-engine EC145 began as an initiative to increase the cabin size of the BK 117 C1 aircraft, involving Kawasaki of Japan and Airbus ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

  The Model 301 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters AS365-series helicopters.

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H145M

  The H145M (formerly known as the EC645 T2) is the military version of the H145 medium-sized (3.7t) helicopter (covered in a separate entry). It is ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M

  The medium-weight, 11t-class H225M (formerly known as the EC725) is the latest military Super Puma/Cougar family member.  Technical features include a modular design of mechanical ...

• Military helicopters - light/training, Military helicopters - multirole

  H135M

  The H135M (formerly known as the EC635 and also designated as H135) is a light utility variant of the EC135 twin-engine, multipurpose 3t helicopter. In ...

• Model 316 Fire Attack

  The Model 316 is a belly tank/refill hose system for Airbus Helicopters H225 and AS332 L-series helicopters.

• AC67 Airbus Helicopters H135 interior

  Bucher has developed the AC67 medical interior for the Airbus Helicopters H135 in cooperation with ADAC Luftrettung.The lightweight, modular design features a floor with integrated ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H215M

  The H215M (formerly the AS532 ALe) is the most recent addition to the Cougar family.  It is a medium-weight (9t-class), twin-engine helicopter, combining the AS532's ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175, a seven-tonne class aircraft powered by twin PT6C 67E engines. The civilian variants produced by Airbus ...

• Air: mission management systems

  Helionix

  The Helionix digital avionics suite was developed from the need for a more powerful avionics system with greater functions and computing capacity, alongside a user-friendly interface. ...

• Helicopter engines

  Arriel 2+/2D

  Unveiled in 2011, the Arriel 2+ is an upgrade of the Arriel 2 and is intended for single- and twin-engine helicopters. It incorporates a new ...

• Helicopter engines

  LTS101

  The LTS101 was first certified in 1975. Since then, over 2,100 engines have been delivered to customers worldwide, logging over 11 million service hours. The ...

• EO/IR systems

  Viviane

  Viviane is an out-of-production gyro-stabilised night and adverse weather observation system with missile sight.  Manufactured by Safran, it was fitted to French Army Gazelles. It contained a ...

• Air: mission management systems

  APM 2000

  The current generation of autopilots is the APM 2000 family, fitted on major worldwide platforms. The APM 2000 is based on an integrated digital computer. ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  H125M

  The H125M, formerly the AS550 C3e Fennec, is a military version of the civil H125. The helicopter platform is manufactured by Airbus Helicopters, through the manufacturer's ...