• Defence Helicopter

  Iraq Report: George Guides Them Home Safely

  13th March 2009

  With the weather closing in – and the tower changing approaches from VFR to IFR as visibility quickly degraded in the blowing desert sand – …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  New possibilities of pilotless helicopters

  13th March 2009

  According to the words of head of research services of “Helicopters of Russia” Vadim Mikheev: the company actively participates in the development of pilotless helicopters. …

• Defence Helicopter

  EADS North America begins Lakota deliveries DC National Guard

  13th March 2009

  EADS North America today delivered the initial three UH-72A Lakota Light Utility Helicopters to the District of Columbia National Guard, providing new-generation aircraft for a …

• Defence Helicopter

  Iraq Report: Osprey - the new status symbol in Iraq

  12th March 2009

  The third Marine Corps tiltrotor squadron to serve in Iraq - VMM-266 - will soon be coming to the end of its deployment. The 'Fighting …

• Defence Helicopter

  Sikorsky Announces the Successful Demonstration of Sandblaster Technology

  12th March 2009

  Sikorsky Aircraft today announced the successful demonstration of technology designed to enable safer helicopter landings in blinding conditions including brownouts. Sikorsky and its Sandblaster project …

• Defence Helicopter

  BAE Systems Committed to Nowra for Seahawk Support Contract

  12th March 2009

  BAE Systems plans to establish a world class aviation maintenance facility in Nowra, NSW, if it secures the contract to support the Royal Australian Navy’s …

• Defence Helicopter

  BAE Systems acheves Project Echidna test milestone

  12th March 2009

  Delivery of an Electronic Warfare Self Protection (EWSP) capability for the Australian Army’s fleets of Blackhawk and Chinook aircraft is a major step closer following …

• Defence Helicopter

  PZL Mielec Rolls Out First Black Hawk Cabin Produced Outside the United States

  12th March 2009

  PZL Mielec, Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.’s affiliate in Poland, today celebrated the rollout of the first Black Hawk helicopter cabin produced at the facility. The event …

• Defence Helicopter

  Barco extends avionics offering with new generation Head-Up Display from Saab

  11th March 2009

  Avionics display provider Barco has entered into an agreement with Saab, Stockholm, Sweden, to expand its avionics offering with the new generation RIGS Head Up …

• Defence Helicopter

  Rolls-Royce Turbomeca signs engine support contract with Australian Aerospace

  11th March 2009

  Rolls-Royce Turbomeca (RRTM) and Australian Aerospace have signed an agreement to provide Through-Life Support (TLS) for the Australian Army’s new fleet of MRH90 Helicopters. Under …

• Defence Helicopter

  L-3 WESCAM Launches MX-RAid for Remote Diagnostic Testing of In-field MX-Series EO/IR Turrets

  10th March 2009

  L-3 WESCAM, a wholly owned subsidiary of L-3 Communications, announced today the introduction of MX-RAid (Remote Aid), a new service kit for remote diagnostic evaluations …

• Defence Helicopter

  Canada's CH-146 Griffon and CH-147 Chinook helicopters reach initial operational capability

  10th March 2009

  On March 3, 2009, Lieutenant-General Angus Watt, Chief of the Air Staff, accompanied by Colonel Christopher Coates, the Commander of the Canadian Air Wing in …

• Defence Helicopter

  Mexican Ministry of Defense orders six EC725s from Eurocopter

  10th March 2009

  Eurocopter has chalked up another success in Latin America: The Mexican Ministry of Defense has placed an order for six EC725 helicopters. The medium-lift helicopters …

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  IXSEA offers training courses in Aberdeen

  10th March 2009

  Throughout 2009, IXSEA Aberdeen is offering regular product training on the OCTANS gyrocompass, GAPS USBL system, and PHINS INS. Further training will be offered on …

• Defence Helicopter

  Bell Aerospace Services Begins Work on U.S. Marine Corps Reset Maintenance Contract

  9th March 2009

  Bell Aerospace Services announced today that it has begun work on a multi-year contract with a projected total value of $173 million, as a subcontract …

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 - 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 - 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 - 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 ...

• 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 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 - 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 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 ...