Helikopter - Airbus EC-145e selger godt - AIN

Airbus Awash In New Lakota, EC-145e Orders

A flood of orders in recent weeks for military UH-72A Lakotas and civil EC-145es assures that Airbus Helicopters’ production line for those medium twins in Columbus, Mississippi, will remain open through at least 2023. Aggregate orders announced over the last 30 days amount to 76 aircraft: 51 UH-72As and 25 EC-145es. These aircraft use the same airframe with the former being used by the U.S. Army for primary training, National Guard, and homeland security missions and the latter mainly by civil EMS and utility operators. Airbus and Metro Aviation announced an order for 25 EC145es on February 27. Deliveries have already begun and are scheduled to continue over the next four years. Airbus's standard VFR avionics package for the EC145e features a glass cockpit with the Garmin G500H and GTN 650 GPS and communication system. Metro is developing an STC for a lightweight IFR package that it will install into its EC145es at its Shreveport, Louisiana completions facility. IFR certification is expected this year. On March 8, Airbus announced it had received an order for 35 UH-72A Lakotas from the Army valued at $273 million. This procurement is divided into two configurations: 17 UH-72A Lakotas for the flight training Initial Entry Rotary Wing mission at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and 18 UH-72A Lakotas for the observer/controller mission at the Army’s Combat Training Centers. Two weeks later Airbus announced that it had received a second contract valued at $116.9 million for an additional 16 UH-72As to support the mission at Fort Rucker, the Army’s primary rotary wing flight training center. Read Expanded Version