The UK National Police Air Service (NPAS) is looking to upgrade seven EC135T helicopters, the aim being for these machines to be standardised in terms of equipment and weight. Senior category manager for NPAS Charlotte Daynes says: “We have just had a supplier conference with regard to this tender which we have out at the moment. It is for the upgrade of seven aircraft, with all the mission-specific police equipment within that. The conference was for suppliers to come and get a bit more of an idea of what we were after, an open forum and also a chance to look around an aircraft that is due to be upgraded.

“We are wanting to reduce weight as much as we can to make the endurance better so it can stay in the air longer. Also a lot of the equipment used is coming to the end of its life and becoming obsolete. The idea is to refresh that but also to get some sort of standardisation on the kit, because this is a national air service now and the aircraft are going to be here, there and everywhere – they are not going to be sticking to the same base.

“The cost is estimated at between £3m and £7m depending on our budget on particular years. We've got the budget for the first three aircraft and then for the next two financial years after this one, doing two aircraft each financial year,” Daynes explains.

The issue concerning the variety of equipment level specifications within the fleet is said to be long-standing. Various research projects have been instigated to address drawbacks, including the different levels of maintenance and the variety of downlinks, both analogue and digital.

Every aircraft was designed and built for a different customer and as a result weight differences are significant, and problematic for pilots. The older airframes are Turbomeca powered on high skids, whereas later deliveries are PWC powered and on low skids. Each has a range of role equipment specifications. NPAS is inviting potential suppliers to bid for the provision of an extensive mission system upgrade for a number of the earlier EC135T2 helicopters in the fleet, with the intention to replace most of the current police mission management system and sensors.

The existing police mission pod or 'Macpod' is still fitted to a handful of aircraft and is due for an upgrade as well. A new installation, similar to that of the more recent airframes, is to be drawn up.