Another good year for Airbus Helicopters
The first prototype of the H160 multipurpose helicopter first flew on June 13, 2015. The French Armed Forces intend to purchase 160-190 helicopters of this type.
Airbus Helicopters continues to maintain its leading position, delivering 2016 helicopters in 418, up five percent from 2015, despite declining orders in an increasingly challenging market. The company has strengthened its leading position in the segment of civil helicopters and law enforcement agencies, while maintaining its current position in the military market.
In 388, Airbus Helicopters received gross orders for 2016 helicopters, which is a stable result compared to 383 orders in 2015. motorized medium helicopters of the Super Puma family. At the end of 2016, the total number of ordered helicopters was 188 units.
The many challenges we faced in 2016 strengthened our resolve to support our customers by increasing their commitment to quality and safety with a wide range of state-of-the-art products and services,” said Guillaume Faury, President of Airbus Helicopters. For the entire helicopter industry, 2016 was perhaps the most difficult year in the last decade. Despite this challenging market environment, we have achieved our operational goals and are moving forward with our transformation plan,” he added.
Highlights in 2016 were the successes in key campaigns of the H225M military helicopters selected by Singapore and Kuwait, as well as the H135 and H145 families selected by the UK for military pilot training. Last year also saw the first deliveries of the new AS565 MBe Panther offshore helicopters for Mexico and Indonesia and the first flight of the NH90 Sea Lion helicopter for the German Navy.
In 2016, the first H175 medium twin-engine VIP helicopter entered the civilian market, and a law enforcement variant began pre-certification flight testing expected this year. A Chinese consortium signed an order for 100 H135 helicopters; should be collected in this country within the next ten years. In November, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued a type certificate for a version of the H135 equipped with Helionix digital avionics, and the new generation H160 has been flight tested throughout the year.
On September 28, 2016, the Mexican Navy received the first of 10 ordered AS565 MBe Panther helicopters at the Airbus Helicopters base in Marignana. Three more cars were delivered before the end of the year, and the remaining six should be delivered to Mexico in 2018. Thus, the Mexican armed forces became the first recipient of a new version of this type of helicopter. They will be operated by naval aviation in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific coast for search and rescue, transportation, disaster evacuation and drug smuggling. The helicopter is equipped with two Safran Arriel 2N gas turbine engines, providing high performance in hot climates and providing a maximum speed of 278 km/h at a flight range of 780 km. The first machines of this type were commissioned by the Mexican naval aviation ten years ago.
On October 4 last year, the Spanish Air Force received its first H215M helicopter at the Albacete plant. The purchase is the result of negotiations held in July 2016 by the Spanish Ministry of Defense with the support of the NSPA (NATO Support and Procurement Agency). It is intended for evacuation of personnel, search and rescue and rescue operations, has an increased flight range of up to 560 km.
