16 Aircraft Deal Includes Training and Aircraft Support
The Hungarian Defense Forces have taken delivery of the first two Airbus H225M multi-purpose helicopters. The first of a 16-aircraft deal, the helicopters were officially handed over to Hungarian military officials by Airbus Helicopters CEO Bruno Evan during a ceremony at Szolnok Airbase in east-central Hungary’s Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county.
Mr. Evan stated: “I am very happy that we have delivered the first H225Ms to Hungary today. The Defense Forces are receiving a combat-proven, multi-role platform, which is the latest version of a very successful helicopter family.”
Mr. Evan added: “Together with the light twin-engine H145M, which is already in operation, Hungary now has a modern helicopter fleet that can fly a broad range of military missions, and we are proud that they decided our helicopters were the right choice for their extremely important operations.”
In addition to the 16 helicopters, Airbus will provide Hungary’s Defense Forces an extensive training and support package by which the service will be ensured the highest possible levels of operational availability and mission readiness.
Conceived of by Eurocopter as the EC725 Caracal, the aircraft known today as the Airbus H225M, first flew in November 2000 and entered service with the French Air Force in February 2005. The H225M is a long-range tactical transport helicopter marketed to military and government customers as a troop transport, casualty evacuation, and combat search and rescue platform.
The H225M is powered by a pair of Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) equipped, 2,382-horsepower Turboméca Makila 2A1 turboshaft engines turning a five-blade composite main-rotor. To better survive inhospitable political and meteorological environments, the H225M can be fitted with removable armor plating and anti-icing systems. The helicopter’s cockpit is fitted with an integrated avionics suite featuring a digital map, active-matrix liquid-crystal displays, and an advanced, four-axis autopilot.
Airbus Helicopters’s H225M can be kitted out with various armaments, to include a pair of 7.62 NATO FN MAG general-purpose machine guns mounted within the aircraft’s forward left and right windows; a pair of 68 mm Thales Brandt or Forges de Zeebrugge side-mounted rocket launchers, each with a capacity of 19 rockets; and the MU90 Impact aerial-launched torpedo. Moreover—via the HForce Generic Weapon System (GWS), Thales’s Scorpion Helmet-Mounted Sight Display (HMSD), and Wescam’s electro-optical sensor, the helicopter can be fortified with a combination of externally-mounted gun pods, rocket pods, and Hellfire air-to-surface missiles.
The H225Ms selected by Hungary are equipped with state-of-the-art communication capabilities, air-to-ground and air-to-surface armaments, and electronic warfare suites. The aircraft, by dint of their exceptional range and payload capacities, will be plied to transport, combat search and rescue, and special operations missions. Additionally, the Hungarian Defense Forces H225M helicopters feature all-weather capability and night-vision goggle compatibility.
A member of the multi-role Super Puma family of helicopters, the military variant of Airbus Helicopters’s H225M is currently operational in France, Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Kuwait, and Singapore.
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