Airbus delivers first two H145Ms to Cyprus

Airbus has delivered the first two of six H145M helicopters to the Republic of Cyprus, with the remaining deliveries to follow later this year. The helicopters will be operated by the Republic of Cyprus National Guard.

"With hybrid warfare set to play an increasing role in future conflicts, militaries will seek versatile helicopters that can perform a variety of pivotal functions," said Olivier Michalon, Executive Vice President for Global Business of Airbus Helicopters. "In this context, the choice of the H145M is particularly astute and the Republic of Cyprus joins a large group of European militaries operating the multi-role H145M for a wide range of missions including training, special operations, troop transport and light attack. We are proud to hand over the first two to the Republic of Cyprus. We look forward to seeing them in operation in the Mediterranean region soon."

Equipped with the Airbus HForce weapons system, the H145M can be operated as a light attack helicopter. The weapons range includes guns, rockets, and missiles. Combined with crewed-uncrewed teaming capabilities, this enables its integration into networked combat.  The H145M can be reconfigured from a light attack role with axial ballistic and guided weapons and a self-protection system into a special operations version with fast rappelling equipment. The mission packages include hoisting and external cargo capabilities.

The German Bundeswehr already operates 24 H145 helicopters for special forces operations (SOF) and search and rescue (SAR) missions. The US Army employs almost 500 helicopters from the H145 family as the  UH-72 Lakota, which have clocked more than 1.5 million flight hours. Military operators of the H145 family are Hungary, Serbia, Luxembourg, Thailand, Ecuador, and Honduras. Recent orders include Germany for up to 82, Belgium for 17, Brunei for 6, and Ireland for 4 aircraft.

(article source: Airbus / editor: Anton van Rijsbergen)
(image source: Airbus)