The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has announced a £122m ($152.4m) contract to procure six Airbus H145 helicopters. These helicopters are slated to provide aviation support for UK troops stationed in Brunei and on the island of Cyprus.
The Airbus H145 helicopters will play a role in facilitating various military activities, including jungle training, emergency response, and aerial firefighting duties.
According to GlobalData’s intelligence on the UK defence market, the Royal Air Force received seven H145 transport and utility helicopters from Airbus between 2016 and 2021.
Director of Helicopters at Defence Equipment & Support, Keith Bethell, commended the collaborative effort behind securing the contract, “I am immensely proud of the work done by the Multi Helicopter Platform Delivery Team along with Army Capability and Airbus Helicopters UK in securing contract award for the purchase of six Airbus H145 platforms to provide aviation support to British Forces in Brunei and on Cyprus.”
The H145 procurement comes as a strategic win for Airbus as they also vie to be chosen for the New Medium Helicopter programme, offering the H175 helicopter. They are competing against Leonardo’s AW149 and Sikorsky’s S-70M.
Airbus SE will capture a 19.6% share of the military rotorcraft market in Europe, with forecast revenue of $12.7bn over 2023–33, as per GlobalData’s “The Global Military Rotorcraft Market 2023-2033” report.
The Airbus H145s will assume aviation duties in Brunei and Cyprus by 2026.
The German Armed Forces and the Honduran Ministry of Defence have recently bolstered their helicopter fleets by acquiring Airbus H145 helicopters. Germany secured a contract for 62 H145M helicopters, with an option for 20 more, making it the largest order ever for the H145 platform. Meanwhile, Honduras finalised the acquisition of two additional H145 helicopters.
