Republic of Ireland orders four Airbus H145M helicopters

Airbus Helicopters has signed a firm contract with the Republic of Ireland Department of Defence to acquire four H145M helicopters. The H145M, a new type in Irish military service, will be used to expand the operational capabilities of the Irish Air Corps on a variety of defence and security tasks.

Irish Defence Forces’ Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Seán Clancy commented: “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.” 

Lenny Brown, Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in the UK stated: “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.” 

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.

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.