Ireland acquires four H145M helicopters with HForce system from Airbus Helicopters
Ireland acquires four Airbus H145M helicopters to strengthen its defense and security.
Airbus Helicopters has signed a firm contract with the Department of Defense of the Republic of Ireland for the procurement of four H145M helicopters, equipped with the HForce weapons management package.
The H145M, new to Irish military service, will be used to enhance the operational capabilities of the Irish Air Corps in a variety of defense and security tasks.
“The procurement of the Airbus H145M helicopter platform is another important step on the journey of transformative change of our Defence Forces. These new light multi-role helicopters, proven in their service in other militaries, will not only enhance the Irish Air Corps rotary capability but will also serve as a critical enabler to the Army, Naval Service and Special Operations Forces,” said Irish Defence Forces’ Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy.
“It’s a great honour to be selected to play this key role in the modernisation of the Irish Air Corps fleet. The H145M offers markedly higher performance and capability than the helicopters currently in service and features provision for weaponry to be fitted if required in future,” said Lenny Brown, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in the UK.
The H145M is the military version of the proven twin-engine H145 helicopter which recently passed the eight million flight hours mark globally. It is configured with HForce, the weapon management system developed by Airbus Helicopters, and can carry weapons including machine guns, rockets and missiles.
See also: First of the 62 H145M helicopters ordered by the German Bundeswehr from Airbus Helicopters takes off
The helicopter is equipped with the Helionix digital avionics suite and a high-performance 4-axis autopilot which makes for low pilot workload allowing crews to focus on the mission at hand. The current version has a five-bladed bearingless main rotor resulting in enhanced performance and contributing to the H145M’s class-leading low acoustic footprint.
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