Airbus delivered in Albacete the first H135 to the Spanish Air and Space Army. The unit is the eighth delivered under the contract for 36 helicopters signed at the end of 2021. Airbus will supply the armed forces and security forces of the state.
This delivery is six months earlier than originally planned. This will facilitate the training of the crews and the entry into service for the 78th Wing of the Military Helicopter School in Armilla (Granada). Once the complete fleet of 11 units has been delivered to the Spanish Air Force, the H135 will become the reference helicopter for pilot training for the Air Force, Army, Navy, and Civil Guard.
Related content: Spanish Ministries of Defense and Interior sign for 36 Airbus H135s
Fernando Lombo, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters Spain, said: «We are proud to know that all the pilots of the corps will be trained on the H135. This aircraft is a versatile, reliable, and efficient helicopter, ideal for the transition to more complex equipment. Our model has more than 400,000 hours of military training flight time in the hands of 12 customers.»
«We are sure that the H135 will represent a leap in the quality of teaching. It will also reinforce the Military Helicopter School as the standard of reference it is worldwide,» the executive added. In total, some 1,400 units of the H135 in the hands of more than 300 operators in 65 countries have accumulated more than 6.5 million flight hours.
The Army Training Unit (ACAVIET) and the Emergency Battalion (BHELEME II) already operate the H135. Spain’s Navy, for its part, will also receive the first of its seven units in the short term. The H135 is the most popular helicopter in the Spanish fleet.
