In the United Kingdom (UK), the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has ordered six new Airbus H145 helicopters, to be used in part to support military training in jungle warfare.
The new order was announced by Airbus Helicopters on April 19, 2024, It comes as the UK looks to renew its rotary fleet and cut the number of different helicopter types in service.
The new aircraft will be deployed to Cyprus, primarily for emergency response duties, and to Brunei to support military training. They will replace Airbus Pumas currently performing those roles.
“We congratulate the MoD on this smart acquisition which simultaneously provides the right-sized helicopter for the Cyprus and Brunei requirements, represents excellent value for the UK taxpayer, and is another key step in the rationalization of types in the transport helicopter fleet,” said Airbus’ Helicopters in the UK Managing Director Lenny Brown.
Brown added: “The H145 Jupiter, and its sister H135 Juno, continue to demonstrate exceptional reliability and versatility in the training role in the Military Flying Training System – MFTS – and will bring these crucial attributes to their new tasks.”
The new helicopters will be delivered in 2025 to serve in parallel with 29 H135s and seven H145s in the Defense Helicopter Flying School, which trains all UK military pilots as part of MFTS at the Royal Air Force’s Shawbury base.
The latest version of Airbus’ best-selling H145 adds an innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission H145, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150 kg.
Worldwide, there are over 1,675 H145 family helicopters in service, totaling over 7.6 million flight hours.