The Bavarian Police has taken delivery of the first two of eight five-bladed H145s from Airbus Helicopters. These first two helicopters will be used in the training of pilots and crews, which will begin shortly, ensuring a smooth transition from the current H135 fleet, which has been in service for more than 12 years, to the larger H145 helicopters. Delivery of the first fully equipped police helicopter is scheduled for the middle of next year.

“We would like to thank Bavaria and its police force for their continued confidence in our helicopters,” says Stefan Thomé, managing director of Airbus Helicopters in Germany. “We are proud to equip the Bavarian police with the most advanced helicopters available for law enforcement missions, supporting it in keeping our communities safe.”

“Our police forces have to deal with a wide range of scenarios: searching for missing persons, transporting special units, fighting forest fires or dealing with natural disasters. The H145, with its outstanding performance and mission capabilities, will provide our police forces with an essential tool to fulfil these diverse missions,” adds Franz Muschick, head of the Bavarian Police helicopter squadron.

Bavaria's fully-equipped H145s will feature some of the most advanced police equipment available. This includes a state of the art computer system with tactical police mission software, easily operated by a foldable flat-screen mission command station for an operator in the cabin and a stowable monitor for the co-pilot. The crew will be aided by a modern lighting concept and leading-edge camera solutions, offering better situational awareness of the helicopter's surroundings and events on the ground. The overall communication is facilitated due to customer-specific radio and data transfer means. A next-generation hoist and the capability to transport external loads as well as for allowing for firefighting, will further enhance police mission capabilities. Additional features, such as illuminated blade tips, improve the safety on board during essential police operations.

The new version of Airbus' best-selling H145 light twin-engine helicopter adds a new, innovative five-bladed rotor to the multi-mission aircraft, increasing the useful load of the helicopter by 150kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design also eases maintenance operations, further improving the benchmark serviceability and reliability of the H145, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew.

In total, there are more than 1,600 H145 family helicopters in service, logging a total of more than seven million flight hours. Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145 is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC) and the Helionix digital avionics suite. It includes a high performance four-axis autopilot, increasing safety and reducing pilot workload. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145 the quietest helicopter in its class, while its CO2 emissions are the lowest amongst its competitors.

More than 200 H145 helicopters are in service around the world in public service and law enforcement missions.