Bolivia To Purchase Six Super Puma AS332 Cle Helos | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-04.14.25

Airborne-NextGen-04.15.25

AirborneUnlimited-04.16.25

Airborne-AffordableFliers-04.17.25

SunnFun-DayFour-04.03.25

Mon, Jan 20, 2014

Bolivia To Purchase Six Super Puma AS332 Cle Helos

Airbus Helicopters To Supply Aircraft For Public Safety And Disaster Relief Missions

The Bolivian Air Force (FAB) has selected the latest high-power version of the Super Puma to fight drug trafficking and perform public-security and disaster-relief missions throughout the country. The contract includes a logistics package that will support fleet sustainability in the coming years. The first two helicopters will be delivered this year and the remaining four before 2016.

The signing of the contract underscores the pledge Bolivian President Evo Morales made at a meeting with his French counterpart Francois Hollande in New York last September, while allowing the FAB to renew and strengthen its fleet with helicopters boasting the latest technology. The contract also includes a logistical support package that aims to provide the FAB with the resources and know-how it needs to ensure high fleet availability.

“We are very proud to provide our air force with latest-generation multi-role aircraft that will enable us to successfully carry out our ongoing missions and face the challenges of the future,” said General Victor Hugo Meneses Gomez, Air Chief Marshal of the Bolivian Air Force. The helicopters will mainly be used to combat drug trafficking and will also carry out public-security and disaster-relief missions throughout the country. General Meneses added: “Bearing in mind the extreme operating conditions in Bolivia, the Super Puma was chosen mainly because of its versatility, safety and, above all else, its ability to operate at high altitude.”

“We would like to thank the Bolivian Air Force for renewing their confidence in our helicopters," said Mesrob Karalekian, Airbus Helicopters’ Vice-President of Sales and Customer Relations for Latin America. “The Super Puma is a powerful multi-role helicopter that is perfectly suited to the demands of operating in the region and which, thanks to its state-of-the-art onboard technology, allows missions to achieve more, all in complete safety.”

The relationship between Airbus Helicopters and the Bolivian Air Force began several decades ago with the Lama and the Alouette. The FAB now operates the Ecureuil AS350 B3 and, as of last year, two EC145s, which are used to transport dignitaries and conduct missions in support of the population. With this latest purchase, the FAB will benefit from a technology transfer program that includes the training of more than 80 technicians and pilots in France and Bolivia. It will also be supplied with special tools for setting up a maintenance center, where intermediate inspections (every 500 hours) will be carried out, and two operational bases for smaller inspections (every 100 hours), the objective being for the FAB to acquire strategic autonomy.

(Image provided by Airbus Helicopters)

FMI: www.airbus-group.com

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (04.15.25): On-Course Indication

On-Course Indication An indication on an instrument, which provides the pilot a visual means of determining that the aircraft is located on the centerline of a given navigational t>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.15.25)

“The remaining infrastructure and staffing for this outdated method costs taxpayers millions of dollars annually to support the small number of pilots that have not converted>[...]

NTSB Prelim: Wild Sky LLC Goat

Weather Conditions Were “Very Gusty” At The Time Of The Accident On March 14, 2025, about 1515 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Wild Sky Goat light->[...]

Airborne 04.16.25: NYC Heli-Tour Shutdown, FAA Closing RCOs, A-26 Restoration

Also: Penguins Are Bad Pilots, DA42 Fleet Delivery, Coulson Expands, CAF SoCal Celebrates Spitfire 80th The FAA issued an emergency order shutting down New York Helicopter Charter,>[...]

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (04.16.25)

"The FAA is taking this action in part because after the company’s director of operations voluntarily shut down flights, he was fired.... The review, known as a Certificate H>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC