Helicopters - No EC725 for Poland - AIN Defence News

October 7, 2016

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Poland Scraps Big Airbus Helicopters Contract Poland has scrapped the planned purchase of 50 Airbus Helicopters EC725 Caracels, after offset negotiations failed. An official statement from Warsaw said that the contractor did not meet the economic interests and security of the Polish state. Meanwhile, Airbus Helicopters reported better news about Thailand, which has ordered two additional EC725s, and about Mexico, which took delivery of its first AS365 Mbe, a new version of the Panther.  The country selected the EC725 in April of last year in preference to the Sikorsky S-70 or AgustaWestland (now Leonardo Helicopters) AW149. The choice was controversial, since the latter two manufacturers already had local industrial partnerships, with PZL Mielec and PZL Swidnik, respectively. Airbus Helicopters said it would work with its Polish distributor Heli Invest to create a final assembly line for the EC725s alongside its R&D center at Lodz. Airbus Helicopters now markets the EC725 as the H225M, but is still using the former designation in recent statements. Read More