Airbus Helicopters announced April 19 that the United Kingdom has ordered an additional six H145 helicopters, with deliveries to start in 2025. According to Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), the H145s purchased under the £122m (~$150.9 million) contract will be deployed to Cyprus to support UK training and for emergency response and aerial firefighting duties, and to Brunei to support UK jungle warfare training, replacing the Airbus Puma HC2 helicopters currently used by the Royal Air Force for the two missions. The H145s are expected to replace the Pumas in both missions in 2026. Th ..read more

On April 10, the Honduran Ministry of Defense signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters for the procurement of two additional H145 multi-purpose helicopters. This new purchase follows the first order signed between the parties in April 2023 for four H145 helicopters. According to an Airbus Helicopters press release, the Honduran Air Force will operate H145 helicopters for passenger and cargo transportation, search and rescue, firefighting, medical evacuation, and other important missions in the region. Under the new contract, the cost of which was not disclosed, Honduras will receive two ..read more

Lockheed Martin announced on 5 April, that the government of Greece has signed a letter of offer and acceptance for the purchase of 35 UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters, which will be built by Lockheed subsidiary Sikorsky. Lockheed’s announcement of the contract signing follows Greek lawmakers’ approval of the purchase on April 2, with a Greek government source informing Reuters that the total cost of the package will be around 1.15 billion euros ($1.24 billion). While Lockheed did not provide any cost estimates, it said the procurement package would include personnel training and training ..read more

The British Army marked the impending retirement of its Apache AH MK1 with a final flypast of the attack helicopter across England on March 25, ceremonially closing out the attack helicopter’s 23 years of service. A flight of two AH MK1s and two AH-64Es conducted a flight across 15 locations throughout England, including London, the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, and RAF Shawbury in Shropshire before the AH MK1s landed for the final time at Wattisham Airfield in Suffolk.  Last time through London The AH MK1, seen here on its final flypast will soon be out of service, ha ..read more

A MH-139A Grey Wolf made its first flight from Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana on March 18, the first time the Air Force helicopter conducted a mission from the air base that will serve as its future operational testing hub. The first Grey Wolf arrived at Malmstrom AFB on March 5, with an official ceremony held to commemorate its arrival on March 9. Malmstrom is one of three Air Force bases that serve as launch sites for the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile, with the Grey Wolf set to replace the UH-1N Hueys used to patrol the missile silo fields at Malmstrom AFB, F.E. Warre ..read more

France’s military has released a video of a French Navy helicopter shooting down a Houthi suicide drone in the Red Sea on March 20. The destruction of the drone was initially announced by EUNAVFOR ASPIDES, the European Union mission to protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi drone and missile attacks. According to a brief statement, the helicopter was conducting “close protection” for a merchant ship when it shot down the drone. France’s defense ministry subsequently released a video of the interception, showing the view from the helicopter’s electro-optical sensor of the ship i ..read more

Last week, the Croatian Ministry of Defense signed a $274 million Letter of Acceptance (LOA) with the United States for the procurement of eight additional UH-60M Black Hawk multi-role helicopters. The agreement, which is an important step in Croatia’s efforts to modernize its defense capabilities, was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ivan Anusić and US Ambassador to Croatia Nathalie Rayes. Senior military officials, including Chief of General Staff General Tihomir Kundid and Air Force Commander Brigadier General Michael Križanec, attended the event held at the “Lu ..read more

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, announced on February 7 that the first three of seven MH-60R Seahawk (Romeo) helicopters ordered by the Hellenic Navy have completed integrated mission systems and sensor testing in early December 2023. According to the company, these tests confirmed that each MH-60R aircraft is an efficient and effective air weapon system capable of carrying out anti-submarine and surface warfare missions from land or sea vehicles. An MH-60R Seahawk (Romeo) helicopter belonging to the Hellenic Navy / From Lockheed Martin “Commonality of these Hellenic Navy MH-60R SEAHAWK a ..read more

The US Army has announced plans to abandon its Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft program. In an announcement, posted on 8 February, the Army stated that the decision was driven by the “lessons learned and a sober assessment of the modern battlefield.” Development of the Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft will be discontinue at the conclusion of prototyping activities this year but investment in the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft program will continue. Elsewhere the US Army plans to recapitalise on projects to produce new airframes rather than continue mid-life refits and lif ..read more

North Macedonia has decided to replace its current Soviet-made Mi-8/17 helicopters with Italian Leonardo’s AW169 and AW149 helicopters. North Macedonian Defense Minister Slavjanka Petrovska announced this decision in an interview with the country’s national news agency 360 Degrees on 22 January. In his statement, the minister stated that this procurement plan, worth an estimated 330 million Euros ($359 million) to develop the country’s air force, includes a total of 8 Agusta Westland multi-purpose helicopters, made up of four AW169s and four AW149s. Petrovska explained that factors such as per ..read more