The Spanish traffic department (DGT) has signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters for the supply of four AS355NP Squirrels and three EC135s, with the latter to be operated by Spain's national police force. Delivery will begin in 2014 with one EC135 and one AS355NP, and the remainder to be completed in 2016.
DGT has been operating helicopters built by Aerospatiale and Eurocopter since 1970, and was the first unit of the Spanish Ministry of the Interior to work with these aircraft. Its fleet of 18 helicopters is used for surveillance, traffic regulation and highway patrols from its central headquarters in Madrid and patrols throughout Spanish territory excluding Catalonia and the Basque Country.
With the addition of the Squirrels, the DGT will become one of the largest fleet operators of this model in the world.