DONAUWORTH, Germany - Airbus Helicopters has delivered the fifteenth and final H145M multi-role helicopter to the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr). The helicopters, stationed in Laupheim, are operated by the Bundeswehr special forces.
As the launch customer, the Bundeswehr ordered 15 of these high-performance helicopters in 2013 as part of the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) Special Operations Forces (SOF) project and received the first aircraft at the end of 2015. With this final delivery, Airbus Helicopters has completed the entire program within the specified time schedule and budget.
The H145M is the military version of the tried-and-tested, light twin-engine H145 civil helicopter that was first delivered in 2014. The entire H145 fleet has now clocked up more than 50,000 flight hours.
With a maximum take-off weight of 3,700 kilograms (8,157 lb), the H145M can be used for a wide range of tasks, including transport, supply, surveillance, air rescue, armed reconnaissance and medical evacuation. The Bundeswehr’s H145M LUH SOF helicopters are equipped with a fast roping system to transport special forces, a high-performance camera system for reconnaissance, as well as equipment for fire support during deployment, enabling special forces to use the helicopters in a wide variety of new fields. Furthermore, the helicopter’s ballistic protection and electronic countermeasures system offers a high level of security during deployment.
The helicopters were developed for day and night use and capable of operating in adverse conditions. Powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 2E engines, the H145M is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). In addition, the helicopter is equipped with the Helionix digital avionics suite which, alongside innovative flight data management, includes a high-performance 4-axis autopilot, which considerably reduces pilot workload during missions.
In 2015, Airbus Helicopters also concluded a comprehensive cooperative service contract with the Bundeswehr, providing support to the customer until at least 2021.
Other countries that have ordered the H145M include Serbia, which ordered nine units, and Thailand, which ordered five.
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