• Digital Battlespace

  Australian Skynet ground station opens

  17th May 2016

  A new ground station has opened in Australia to land Airbus Defence and Space’s Skynet secure military satellite communications network, the company announced on 16 …

• Defence Notes

  Will Duterte rock Philippine defence boat?

  17th May 2016

  The presidential electoral victory of Rodrigo Duterte on 9 May could have seismic implications for not only the Philippines, but also the whole region. Duterte, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Surplus Kiowas an opportunity not competition

  16th May 2016

  The divestment of the Bell Helicopter OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and TH-67 Creek training aircraft is being pitched as an opportunity for customers to buy at …

• Defence Helicopter

  USMC orders Venom and Vipers

  16th May 2016

  Bell Helicopter has released details of a $461.1 million contract received in March to supply UH-1Y Venom utility helicopters and AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters for …

• Defence Helicopter

  US approves Hellfire sale to UAE

  16th May 2016

  The US State Department has made a determination approving a potential foreign military sale (FMS) of AGM-114 R/K Hellfire missiles as well as training, equipment …

• Training

  UDT 2016: RNZN furthers Seaeye Falcon training

  16th May 2016

  Personnel from the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) have completed an ROV training course on the Saab Seaeye Falcon, a system regularly used by the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Tough talk on European attack helicopter programmes

  13th May 2016

  Bell Helicopter’s commitments to eastern European attack helicopter programmes in the Czech Republic and Poland are strong in the light of the signing of a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Good vibrations for the Chinook

  13th May 2016

  The first CH-47F Chinook fitted with an improved vibration control system (IVCS) has rolled off the Boeing production line in Pennsylvania. Supplier Lord Corporation confirmed …

• Defence Helicopter

  Newcomers continue FVL development

  13th May 2016

  Heavyweight industry players may have been selected to build full-scale helicopters for the US Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) technology demonstrator programme, but smaller companies are …

• Defence Helicopter

  Airbus to retrofit French EC145s

  13th May 2016

  Airbus Helicopters has received a contract from the French Defence Procurement Agency DGA to retrofit 35 H145 (formerly EC145) helicopters operated by the Sécurité Civile …

• Training

  US, Germany conduct Operation Sharp Griffin

  13th May 2016

  US and German armed forces underwent training on multiple complex situations at the multinational Operation Sharp Griffin training exercise, it was announced in early May. The exercise …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell's Prague facility aids quick delivery

  12th May 2016

  The new customisation capabilities at Bell Helicopter Prague’s regional aftermarket, delivery and customisation service centre will enable a speedier customer delivery process across Europe, according …

• Training

  South Korea participates in ADMM-Plus

  12th May 2016

  South Korea participated in maritime security and counterterrorism training, organised by ADMM-Plus, the government announced on 10 May. The country's military developed its joint and …

• Training

  ITEC 2016: IFS selected for MFTS action

  10th May 2016

  The UK MFTS took a major step forward in February when Affinity Flying Training Services signed the contract to provide the remaining fixed-wing training elements for …

• Land Warfare

  ADMM-Plus shows counterterrorism resolve

  10th May 2016

  In a major show of cooperation, special forces representing 15 nations from the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus) performed a counterterrorism exercise in Singapore …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow On

  Programme Background In March 2019, Airbus stated that it expected orders from the US Army for between 12 and 15 UH-72A helicopters. In March 2020, ...

• 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

  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 - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program (Helicopter Procurement) - Canada

  Programme Background The FAcT requires to graduate 120 pilots, 40 combat systems officers and 36 airborne electronic sensor operators per year with 15% fluctuation. Training services ...

• 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 - 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

  H145M [Spain]

  Programme Background  In May 2025, Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan as part of the country's wider effort to rearm in response to American pressure. ...

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

  H135M [Spain]

  Programme Background Spain announced the National Helicopter Plan in May 2025 culminating in five contracts awarded to Airbus on 18 December 2025, including procurement programmes ...

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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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 - multirole

  H175M

  The Airbus H175M is the military variant of the H175 and works to fill a gap in the H175 helicopter family, as well as offer ...

• H160

  Airbus Helicopters unveiled a full-scale model of the H160 medium twin rotorcraft on 3 March 2015 at Heli-Expo. The utility helicopter, the first to be ...