• Defence Helicopter

  Northrop Grumman receives LAIRCM contract

  19th March 2012

  Northrop Grumman has announced that it has been awarded a firm-fixed-price contract from the US Air Force (USAF) for the provision of Large Aircraft Infrared …

• Defence Helicopter

  SAR 2012: Caution sounded over government-imposed interoperability

  19th March 2012

  Interoperability should be driven by need rather than being institutionalised, according to the UK’s chief coast guard, reflecting on the likely success of future SAR …

• Defence Helicopter

  EC225 selected by Japanese MOD

  15th March 2012

  Eurocopter has announced that the Japanese Ministry of Defence (MOD) has selected the EC225 for passenger transport. One aircraft will be delivered to Japan and …

• Military Logistics

  Airbus Military selects AAR for logistics

  15th March 2012

  AAR has announced that it has been selected by Airbus Military to provide off-wing repairs management and logistics services as part of five-year programmes that …

• Defence Helicopter

  Australian Navy retires the A109

  14th March 2012

  The Australian Navy has retired its fleet of AgustaWestland A109 helicopters as the type makes way for the introduction of the Bell 429. The aircraft, …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sea Knights get new life with US State Department

  14th March 2012

  US Marine Corps CH-46 Sea Knights are getting a new lease of life through a collaborative programme with the US State Department it has been …

• Defence Helicopter

  AVMS successfully tested

  13th March 2012

  Boeing has announced that it, along with the US Army, has successfully completed a series of tests on the company’s Adaptive Vehicle Management System (AVMS), …

• Defence Helicopter

  NH90 pre-selected for future Norwegian SAR capability

  12th March 2012

  NHIndustries has announced that Norway has pre-selected the NH90 helicopter for the ongoing NAWSARH (Norwegian all weather search and rescue helicopter) competition that aims to …

• Defence Helicopter

  DoD refocuses presidential helicopter replacement

  12th March 2012

  Further delays to the US VXX Presidential helicopter acquisition programme have placed the current fleet under stress and in need of significant upgrades, according to …

• Defence Helicopter

  'Pashtun Jaguar' tests UK helicopter crews for Afghanistan

  12th March 2012

  Rotary-wing assets from the UK's Joint Helicopter Command (JHC) have taken part in a large exercise to prepare troops heading for Afghanistan. JHC's Exercise Pashtun …

• Defence Helicopter

  Production of sensor-based landing system for German CH-53s approved

  12th March 2012

  German officials have approved the production of a sensor-based landing system to assist CH-53 crews making brownout landings in Afghanistan. The decision, taken by the …

• Defence Helicopter

  Philippines Air Force takes delivery of W-3 Sokol helicopters

  9th March 2012

  The Phillippines Air Force (PAF) has taken delivery of the first batch of four W-3 Sokol helicopters from PZL-Swidnik. The aircraft were handed over in …

• Defence Helicopter

  FlightSafety expands training services

  9th March 2012

  FlightSafety International has reported a sharp increase in demand for its training services in the Middle East, in particular from operators of Sikorsky helicopters. In …

• Defence Helicopter

  Caiman helicopter undergoes deck landing trials

  9th March 2012

  DCNS has announced that the Caiman Marine (HN90) heavy lift helicopter that recently entered service with the French Navy has undergone a series of deck …

• Defence Helicopter

  HH-139A enters service with Italian Air Force

  9th March 2012

  AgustaWestland has announced that the first HH-139A medium twin engine helicopter has entered operational service with the Italian Air Force. This is the first of …

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military helicopters - multirole

  UH-72 Follow-On [USA]

  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]

  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 Puma ...

• Military helicopters - attack, Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  H225M / H145M Add-On [Romania]

  Methodology As part of a potential initial order for 12 H225M helicopters, Romania has included the option to acquire 30 additional helicopters from Airbus. Shephard estimates this ...

• 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 - multirole

  H135 [UK]

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

• 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 - multirole

  H145M [Ireland]

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

• Military helicopters - light/training

  Future Aircrew Training Program [Canada]

  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 are ...

• 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 - 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 - light/training

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

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

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  AW101 [Poland]

  Bids and suppliers Airbus Helicopters Though not involved in the final bid stage, Airbus Helicopters had originally put the H225M forward to meet the Polish ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW169M [North Macedonia]

  Background Bids and suppliers Prior to Leonardo's award of the North Macedonian contract, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and Bell Helicopters had all put bids in for ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AW149 [North Macedonia]

  Background Bids and suppliers Prior to Leonardo's award of the North Macedonian contract, Airbus, Lockheed Martin, and Bell Helicopters had all put bids in for ...

• 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 ...

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 - 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 - 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 - 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

  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 ...

• Military helicopters - scout/light attack

  Light Armed Helicopter

  The South Korean government selected Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) in July 2014 to develop the Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) and the related Light Civil Helicopter ...

• Military helicopters - multirole

  AS365 N3+ Dauphin

  The AS365 N3+, manufactured by Airbus Helicopters (formerly Eurocopter), was developed from the Dauphin series of medium, twin-turboshaft rotorcraft. The AS365 N3+ was launched at the 2009 ...

• Military UAS - small

  Flexrotor

  Flexrotor, or U030 Flexrotor, is a VTOL small UAS manufactured by Aerovel. It can integrate different types of payloads, including electro-optical systems and advanced sensors, to suit ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  NH90 TTH

  Developed as a multinational programme between France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands, the European NH90 was designed to meet NATO requirements for multirole capability from ...