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| A French Air Force EC725R2/H225M Caracal in 2009 (Image: Wiki Commons) |
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — Figures released by Airbus Helicopters today appear to indicate that Singapore has ordered 16 H225M medium-lift helicopters.
The Southeast Asian island nation, which is a close regional security partner of the United States and a strong supporter of the U.S. security presence in the region, had announced in November that it had selected the Airbus Helicopters H225M and Boeing CH-47F Chinook to recapitalize its medium- and heavy-lift military helicopter fleets.
The new helicopters will replace the fleet of AS332M/M-1 Super Pumas and older CH-47D Chinooks currently operated by the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF). Neither Singapore’s Ministry of Defence nor Airbus Helicopters have revealed the number of H225Ms Singapore has contracted for, although earlier reports had put the number of Super Puma replacements Singapore was seeking at 12 aircraft.
Airbus Helicopters CEO Guillaume Faury said today at a press briefing to announce its financial results that the division had logged 23 orders for the H215/225 Super Puma family in 2016, although an Airbus Helicopters spokesperson contacted by Defense News declined to give a breakdown of the number of customers for the type.
A check by Defense News showed however that Airbus Helicopters had announced orders for seven H215/225s from four customers other than Singapore throughout the year, which would leave 16 aircraft unaccounted for in its order books.
Read the full story at DefenseNews