This week has seen a raft of orders for Airbus Helicopters including an historic contract for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
The SkyAlyne partnership was first to sign this week when they placed an order for 19 Airbus H135 helicopters for RCAF military training. The partnership is a joint venture between CAE and KF Aerospace and has ordered the units as part of the RCAFs Future Aircrew Training (FAcT) programme.
“SkyAlyne is excited at the successful conclusion of negotiations between our partners at KF Aerospace and Airbus Helicopters in Canada, and we extend our gratitude to everyone involved. Securing the Airbus H135 fleet for the RCAF is an important milestone for SkyAlyne and the FAcT program as it solidifies a core element of the program schedule,” commented Kevin Lemke, SkyAlyne’s senior executive. “The selection of the state-of-the-art H135 from Airbus Helicopters contributes meaningfully to the Canadian economy and SkyAlyne is proud to be building a world-leading Pilot and Aircrew training program for the RCAF while supporting Canadian jobs.”
The H135s for the RCAF will be assembled and delivered from Airbus’ facility in Ontario, Canada and will feature a number of specific changes for the RCAF programme.
This order was followed shortly by a 12 aircraft order from the Dutch Ministry of Defence which signed for 12 H225M helicopters which will be operated by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) 300 special operations squadron.
The H225M has proven itself as a durable and reliable helicopter for a wide-range of missions and this order reaffirms the Dutch commitment to Airbus aircraft having already operated aircraft from the H215 family.
“We are very proud to see the Royal Netherlands Air Force and COMMIT renewing their trust in Airbus Helicopters. The H225M was selected by the Netherlands in June 2023 after a call for tender and an exhaustive evaluation, after which the Airbus helicopter was considered the best option for the very demanding special forces operations,” said Bruno Even, Airbus Helicopters CEO adding “The proven H225M is unmatched in terms of performance, versatility and range. It can carry extensive mission equipment that can be tailored to each customer’s needs and will be serving its customer’s requirements for the decades to come,”
The latest order of the week came from Air Ambulance provider Global Medical Response (GMR) who ordered a total of 28 aircraft including six H125s, five H130s, 14 H135s and three H145s as part of its fleet expansion.
Operating from 387 bases across the globe, GMR is a leading provider of air medical services across the USA and around the globe operating under brands including Air Evac Lifeteam, REACH Air Medical Services, Med-Trans Corporation, AirMed International and Guardian Flight.
“We are proud to continue supporting GMR as their teams work to deliver critical care to communities across the country, and pleased they have once again trusted Airbus helicopters to play a key role in their missions,” said Bart Reijnen, Head of the North America Region for Airbus Helicopters. “These additions reinforce GMR’s commitment to providing high quality medical care, and we look forward to the positive impact the new helicopters will have on their operations.”
The order come as Airbus Helicopters exhibits at European Rotors, Europe’s leading Rotor and vTOL aerospace show taking place in Amsterdam.
