From Handwiki | Type | Operating Division |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace |
| Founded | 1992 |
| Headquarters | Marseille Provence Airport Marignane, France |
Key people | Bruno Even (CEO)[1] |
| Products | Helicopters |
| Revenue | |
Operating income | |
Number of employees | 20,126 (2021)[2] |
| Parent | Airbus |
| Subsidiaries | Subsidiaries |
| Website | www.airbus.com/en/products-services/helicopters |
Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, France , near Marseille.[3] The main facilities of Airbus Helicopters are at its headquarters in Marignane, France, and in Donauwörth, Germany, with additional production plants in Canada , Brazil (Helibras), Australia , Spain , Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States . The company, originally named Eurocopter, was rebranded Airbus Helicopters on 2 January 2014.[4]
Airbus Helicopters was formed in 1992 as Eurocopter Group, through the merger of the helicopter divisions of Aérospatiale and DASA. The company's heritage traces back to Blériot and Lioré et Olivier in France and to Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf in Germany.[5]
Airbus Helicopters and its predecessor companies have established a wide range of helicopter firsts, including the first production turboshaft-powered helicopter (the Aérospatiale Alouette II of 1955); the introduction of the Fenestron shrouded tail rotor (on the Gazelle of 1968); the first helicopter certified for full flight in icing conditions (the AS332 Super Puma, in 1984); the first production helicopter with a Fly-by-wire control system (the NHIndustries NH90, first flown in full FBW mode in 2003); the first helicopter to use a Fly-by-light primary control system (an EC135 testbed, first flown in 2003); and the first ever landing of a helicopter on Mount Everest (achieved by an AS350 B3 in 2005).[6][7][8]
As a consequence of the merger of Airbus Helicopters' former parents in 2000, the firm is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus. The creation of what was then called EADS in 2000 also incorporated CASA of Spain, which itself had a history of helicopter-related activities dating back to Talleres Loring, including local assembly of the Bo105.
Today, Airbus Helicopters has four main plants in Europe (Marignane and La Courneuve in France, and Donauwörth and Kassel in Germany), plus 32 subsidiaries and participants around the world, including those in Fort Erie Canada , Brisbane, Australia, Albacete, Spain and Grand Prairie, USA.[9][10]
Since approximately 2006, Eurocopter has been involved in the planning for the proposed pan-European Future Transport Helicopter project.[11]
As of 2014, more than 12,000 Airbus Helicopters were in service with over 3,000 customers in around 150 countries.[12] Euroopter became Airbus Helicopter at the start of 2014.[13]
Eurocopter sold 422 helicopters in 2013 and delivered 497 helicopters that year.[14] In 2014, AH built a concrete cylinder for testing helicopters before first flight.[15]
In December 2022, it was announced Airbus Helicopters has acquired the Kassel-Calden-headquartered gearbox and component supplier, ZF Luftfahrttechnik from ZF Friedrichshafen for an undisclosed amount. The business will be rebranded as Airbus Helicopters Technik.[16]
Historical emblems of the company:
1992–2000
2000–2010
2010–2014
_logo.png)
2014–2017
2017–present[17]
Some of the helicopters were renamed in 2015, resembling Airbus airplane naming.[18] When the division changed its name from Eurocopter Group to Airbus Helicopters in 2014 the trade names of the products were changed (applied by 1 January 2016) to reflect this. Suffixes, as well as the differentiation for single or twin engines, were no longer to be used. Military versions were to be symbolized by the letter M. The only exceptions to this new branding were the AS365, the AS565, the Tiger and the NH90, which will keep their current names.[19]
| Original name | New name | Deliveries | MTOW [t] | Powerplant | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS355 Écureuil 2 | 1975-2016 | 2.54 | 2 × 420 hp Allison 250 | 1 pilot + 5/6 passengers | |
| EC120 Colibri B[lower-alpha 1] | H120 | 1998-2017 | 1.715 | 1 × 500 hp Arrius 2 | 1 pilot + 4 passengers |
| AS350 Écureuil (Squirrel) | H125 | 1975-present | 2.25-2.8 | 1 × 847 hp Arriel | 1 pilot + 5/6 passengers |
| AS550 Fennec / AS555 Fennec 2 | H125M | 1990-present | 2.25 | 1 × 850 hp Arriel 2B | 2 pilots + 4 troops |
| EC130 (from AS350) | H130 | 2001-present | 2.5-3.05 | 1 × 952 hp Arriel 2B | 1 pilot + 6/7 passengers |
| EC135[lower-alpha 2] | H135 | 1996-present | 2.98 | 2 × 627 hp Arrius/PW206 | 1 pilot + 6/7 passengers |
| EC635 | H135M | 1998-present | 2.9 | 2 × 817 hp PW206/Arrius 2B2 | 1 pilot + 8 troops |
| EC145 (from BK 117))[lower-alpha 2] | H145 | 2002-present | 3.7 | 2 × 1,072 hp Arriel | 2 pilots + 10 passengers |
| EC645[lower-alpha 3] | H145M | 2014-present | 3.7 | 2 × 782 hp Arriel | 1/2 pilots + 10 troops |
| AS365 Dauphin[lower-alpha 4] | 1978-2022 | 4.3 | 2 × 961 hp Arriel | 2 pilots + 12 passengers | |
| AS565 Panther | 1986-present | 4.3 | 2 × 1,129 hp Arriel | 2 pilots + 10 troops | |
| EC155 | H155 | 1999-present | 4.92 | 2 × 1,053 hp Arriel | 2 pilots + 13 passengers |
| X4 | H160 | 2019-present | 6.05 | 2 × 1,110-1,300 hp Arrano | 2 pilots + 12 passengers |
| EC175 | H175 | 2014-present | 7.8 | 2 × 2,067 hp PT6 | 2 pilots + 16/18 passengers |
| AS332 Super Puma | H215 | 1980-present | 8.6-9.35 | 2 × 1,877 hp Makila | 2 pilots + 15/19 passengers |
| AS532 Cougar | H215M | 1978-present | 9-9.35 | 2 × 1,877 hp Makila | 2 pilots + 24 troops + 1 chief |
| EC225 Super Puma | H225 | 2004-present | 11-11.2 | 2 × 2,101 hp Makila | 2 pilots + 19 passengers |
| EC725 Caracal[lower-alpha 5] | H225M | 2005-present | 11-11.2 | 2 × 2,382 hp Makila | 2 pilots + 28 troops + 1 chief |
| NHIndustries NH90[lower-alpha 6] | NH90 | 2006-present | 10.6-11 | 2 × 2,913 hp RTM 322 / GE T700 | 2 pilots + 20 troops + 1 chief |
| EC665 Tiger | Tiger | 2003-present | 6.6 | 2 × 1,774 hp MTR390 | 1 pilot + 1 gunner |
.jpg)
H120/EC120 Colibri

H125/AS350 Écureuil
H125M/AS555 Fennec
.jpg)
H130/EC 130
.jpg)
H135/EC135
H135M/EC635
.jpg)
H145/EC145
H145M/EC645/UH-72
.jpg)
AS365 Dauphin
AS565 Panther/HH-65/Z-9

H155/EC155
.jpg)
H160
.jpg)
H175

EC-665 Tiger
.jpg)
H215/AS332 Super Puma
H215M/AS532 Cougar

NH90
_(center).jpg)
H225/EC225 Super Puma
H225M/EC725 Caracal
Comparable major helicopter manufacturers:
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Categories: [Military vehicle manufacturers]