• Defence Helicopter

  USAF Ospreys to deploy to Japan in 2017

  13th May 2015

  The Pentagon has announced it will begin deploying its first squadron of Bell Boeing CV-22 Ospreys to Japan in 2017. The specially modified tiltrotor aircraft …

• Defence Helicopter

  Russian Helicopters, AVIC sign framework agreement for AHL

  12th May 2015

  Russian Helicopters and Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) have signed a framework agreement to develop a heavy-lift helicopter called the Advanced Heavy Lift (AHL) …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus team to help A400M crash investigation

  11th May 2015

  Following the crash of a test A400M aircraft near Seville in Spain on 9 May, manufacturer Airbus Defence and Security has flown in an investigation …

• Defence Helicopter

  India gets two repaired Ka-31 helicopters

  11th May 2015

  Russian Helicopters has delivered the first two repaired Ka-31 helicopters from Kumertau Aviation Production Enterprise to India, it announced on 6 May. Kumertau Aviation Production …

• Military Logistics

  Thales TopShield-400 selected for French A330 MRTT

  11th May 2015

  Thales has been awarded a contract to provide its TopShield-400 Controlled Reception Pattern Antenna (CRPA) system for the future French A330 tanker, the company announced …

• Naval Warfare

  Raytheon's SM-6 enters full-rate production

  11th May 2015

  Raytheon's Standard Missile-6 surface-to-air supersonic missile programme has moved from low-rate to full-rate production, the company has announced, with the first full-rate production round delivered …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEF 2015: L-UMTAS preparing for delivery

  8th May 2015

  The Long-Range Anti-Tank Missile (L-UMTAS) from Roketsan is to be bought by the Turkish Army next year. At the IDEF exhibition in Istanbul, a spokesperson …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  UAV Vision gimbal selected for Airbus Zephyr 8

  8th May 2015

  The solar-powered Zephyr 8 is part of the High-Altitude Pseudo-Satellite (HAPS) programme being conducted by Airbus Defence and Space, and in early May the company …

• Defence Helicopter

  Japanese Osprey buy moves a step closer

  7th May 2015

  The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified the US Congress on 5 May that it had cleared a sale of 17 Bell Boeing V-22B Osprey …

• Defence Notes

  IDEF 2015: First sight of SOM-J cruise missile

  7th May 2015

  The new SOM-J (stand-off missile) cruise missile destined for the F-35 aircraft is about to begin Phase IIB risk reduction studies. According to Roketsan, which …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Indago UAS used for Cyclone Pam disaster relief

  7th May 2015

  Heliwest deployed Lockheed Martin's Indago UAS to conduct a rapid damage assessment in the aftermath of Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu, Lockheed Martin announced on 4 …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australia commissions first pair of CH-47F Chinooks

  6th May 2015

  The Australian Army commissioned its first pair of Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters at RAAF Base Townsville on 5 May. They will be operated by the …

• Defence Helicopter

  IDEF 2015: TAI position for Polish Kruk attack helicopter

  6th May 2015

  TAI has signed two MoUs with Polish defence companies at the IDEF exhibition as it builds up to compete for Poland’s attack helicopter programme – …

• Defence Helicopter

  UK Chinooks deploy in Nepal for relief operations

  5th May 2015

  The UK is sending 3 Royal Air Force (RAF) CH-47 Chinook aircraft to Nepal to assist in the British and Nepalese earthquake response, the government …

• Defence Helicopter

  First Bell 407GX delivered to Mexican Air Force

  1st May 2015

  The Mexican Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Mexicana - FAM) has received its first Bell Helicopter 407GX aircraft, a company spokesperson confirmed to Shephard. It is …

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 - 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 ...

• Military helicopters - maritime

  Naval Utility Helicopters (India)

  Programme Background The program will witness the formation of a joint venture between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and another local or foreign manufacturer. In June ...

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 ...

• 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 ...

• Model 301 Fire Attack

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

• Model 316 Fire Attack

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

• 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. ...

• 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 - 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 ...

• 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 ...

• 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. ...

• Air: Defensive Systems - Radar Warning Receivers

  EWR-99

  Dassault is not traditionally associated with electronic warfare subsystems, instead being equated with the manufacture of combat aircraft and business jets. Nonetheless, the company did, ...