Airbus Helicopters H225M

H225M Caracal
EC 725 Cougar MkII + at the 2007 Paris Air Show
Type:	Multipurpose helicopter
Design country:	France
Manufacturer:	Airbus Helicopters
First flight:	November 27, 2000
Commissioning:	February 2005
Number of pieces:	85 (as of June 2017)

The H225M Caracal (original name EC 725 Caracal ), or Super Cougar , is a military, tactical multi-purpose and transport helicopter of the 11-ton class with a long range of the French part of the European group of companies Airbus Helicopters .

history

The H225M is a member of the "Cougar" family and represents the military version of the H225 (originally EC 225) Super Puma , which in turn is a further development of the Aérospatiale AS 532 .

The first flight of the then EC 725 took place on November 27, 2000 with Hervé Jammayrac, Bernard Turcat and Daniel Sémiol on board. The first public performance took place on January 15, 2001.

In January 2010 the Indonesian company PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) announced a collaboration with the then Eurocopter. PTDI produces components such as the tail boom and the cabin cell; the first delivery of a helicopter for the Indonesian market took place in 2014. A license production is carried out by Helibras, the Brazilian subsidiary of Airbus Helicopters, another is to be built in Poland (see also under orders).

In the course of the restructuring and renaming of the parent company EADS to the Airbus Group , it was decided in August 2013 to rename the Eurocopter company to Airbus Helicopters from January 2014 ; In spring 2015, new series designations were introduced.

Users

Orders

 France

Air forces : 14 , The delivery of initially eight Caracals , the name of the EC725 in the French armed forces, for the Armée de l'air as a version for armed search and rescue flights (CSAR) began in January 2005. Later six more machines were added France, which probably also went to the Air Force.

Land forces : 8 , The Aviation légère de l'armée de Terre (ALAT) operates eight Caracal for the use of special forces .

 Brazil

On December 23, 2008, the presidents of France and Brazil announced the purchase of 50 machines for the Brazilian armed forces for a total price of 1.9 billion euros. In June 2014, the first EC725 made in Brazil was delivered to the country's navy.

Exército Brasileiro / Land Forces : 16 HM-4 (transport version)

Força Aérea Brasileira / Air Force : 18 16 H-36 ( CSAR -), 2 VH-36 ( VIP version)

Marinha do Brasil : 16 , 8 UH-15 (transport), 3 UH-15A ( CSAR -), 5 AH-15B ( underground hunt version)

 Hungary

16 , In December 2018, 16 machines were ordered which are equipped with the H-Force weapon system to replace the Mi-8 and Mi-17 stationed in Szolnok.

 Indonesia

Air Force : 14 , Indonesia initially ordered six CSAR versions in May 2012 , with the corresponding equipment being installed on site at PT Dirgantara Indonesia (PTDI) in Bandung . The first machine arrived in Indonesia in November 2014 for retrofitting and was handed over to the air force two years later . Eight more H225Ms were ordered at the beginning of 2019.

 Kazakhstan

Also in May 2012, Kazakhstan's intention to purchase 20 copies was announced.

 Kuwait

As announced in October 2015, the Emirate of Kuwait plans to purchase 24 Caracals plus six options. The corresponding contract for 30 machines was signed in Paris in August 2016. The air force is to receive 24 and the National Guard six copies.

 Malaysia

The sale of twelve helicopters to Malaysia in October 2008 was temporarily stopped because of the financial crisis due to a lack of money on the Malaysian side. The delivery to the Royal Malaysian Air Force finally began in December 2012 and is expected to be completed by January 2014.

 Mexico

On March 9, 2009, the Mexican military announced the purchase of six units of the type. The order was later doubled and in July 2011 the 101st season of the FAM in Santa Lucia received its first of the nine copies. Three of the helicopters ordered are for the Navy.

 Poland

On April 21, 2015, Airbus Helicopters announced that the H225M had won a Polish tender for the procurement of 50 helicopters. The final assembly is to take place in Poland. 16 transport, 13  CSAR , 8  anti-submarine , 8  special forces and 5  MedEvac helicopters are planned. Competitor AgustaWestland is currently taking legal action against the Polish Ministry of Defense because of this decision. At the beginning of October 2016, it became known that the Polish government had broken off negotiations with Airbus and is now planning to purchase Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters.

 Thailand

12 ; In September 2012, Thailand ordered four EC725s in the SAR version for the Royal Thai Air Force , which were delivered in August 2015. In October 2014, two more copies were ordered and delivered in 2016 and two more H225Ms were also ordered in 2016 and delivered in 2018. Another four H225Ms were ordered in 2018 and will be added in 2021.

technology

The H225M (EC 725) is equipped with a five- blade Spheriplex main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor. The avionics consists of an inertial and GPS navigation system, an autopilot and a glass cockpit with four large and two smaller displays. To increase the range, the helicopter is equipped with an air refueling probe. Two Turboméca Makila 2A shaft turbines with FADEC control are installed as a drive .

Parameter	Data
Type	Transport helicopter
crew	5 + 29 soldiers
Hull length	16.79 m
Length over main rotor	19.50 m
height	4.60 m
width	3.38 m
Cabin length	7.87 m
Cabin height	Max. 1.45 m
Cabin width	Max. 1.80 m
Rotor diameter	16.20 m
Tail rotor diameter	3.15 m
Empty mass	5330 kg
Max. Takeoff mass	11,200 kg
Engine	two Turboméca Makila 2A shaft turbines
power	1566 kW starting and 1776 kW emergency power each
Top speed	324 km / h
Marching speed	285 km / h
Service ceiling	6095 m
Hover altitude	610 m (at maximum mass in the ground effect)
Operational range	740 km (with 20 soldiers)

Armament

Side machine gun armament

Movable armament installed in the door

• 2 × 7.62 mm machine guns Fabrique Nationale FN-MAG-58 on ball joint mounts with 100 rounds of ammunition each
• 1 x 20 mm automatic cannon Nexter system 20M621 on SH20-carriage 100 rounds of ammunition

Unguided air-to-surface missiles

• 2 × Thales Brandt rocket tube launch containers for 19 unguided TDA air-to-ground missiles each; Caliber 68 mm
• 2 × Forges de Zeebrugge FZ225 rocket tube launch container for 19 unguided air-to-surface rockets FZ each; Caliber 70 mm (2.75 ")

External container

• 2 × machine canon container POD NC 621, each with a 20 mm automatic cannon Nexter 20M621 with 180 rounds of ammunition

Self-protection systems

Active measures

• 2 × flare launchers MBDA "ELIPS" with 24 1 "× 1" heat flare flares each . The launchers are mounted in aerodynamic fairings at the rear.

Passive action

• 4 × radar warning sensor (RWR) Dassault Electronique EWR-99 FRUIT
• 4 × laser warning sensor (LWR)
• 4 × infrared emission searching missile approach warning sensors (MAWS)
• 2 × exhaust gas cooling diffusers. The engine outlets can be equipped with air mixers, which greatly reduce the heat radiation of the exhaust gases by mixing with fresh air.

See also

• List of helicopter types

Web links

Commons : Eurocopter Cougar  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website EC725 ( Memento of August 6, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
• Air Force Technology: Eurocopter EC 725 Cougar (English)
• Flug Revue Online: Eurocopter EC 725 (Cougar Mk.II +) ( Memento from January 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
• Skycontrol.net: Eurocopter EC 725 - Peak Power of the Eurocopter Cougar Helicopter Family ( Memento from May 25, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ H225M Media Backgrounder. Airbus.com , accessed February 16, 2018 . 
2. ↑ EADS Reports Solid Half-Year (H1) Results, Reaffirms 2013 Guidance. In: eads.com. EADS July 31, 2013, archived from the original on July 31, 2013 ; accessed on September 13, 2016 . 
3. ↑ Helibras delivers the first three Eurocopter EC725 helicopters for the Brazilian Armed Forces ( Memento from January 1, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), December 20, 2010 (English)
4. ↑ Dominic Perry: Airbus Helicopters hands over first EC725 fully assembled in Brazil . In: Flightglobal.com . June 19, 2014, accessed on June 22, 2014 (English): “The nation had previously received 11 aircraft from its tri-service order of 50 helicopters, with the early examples supplied from the airframer's Marignane, France facility or partially assembled by Helibras , its Brazilian subsidiary. However, the latest EC725 to be handed over was completely assembled at Helibras's Itajuba facility, which included the integration of mission equipment. "
5. ↑ Brazilian Navy works to grow its aviation wing, Janes, March 18, 2019
6. ↑ Hungary orders 16 H225M multi-role helicopters, Airbus, December 14, 2018
7. ↑ PTDI delivers first H225Ms to Indonesian air force, Flightglobal, November 28, 2016
8. ↑ Indonesia boosts helicopter fleet, Flightglobal, January 10, 2019
9. ↑ Kuwait lines up Caracal helicopters, Janes, October 22, 2015 ( Memento of October 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
10. ↑ Airbus Helicopters: Kuwait orders helicopters for one billion euros, Handelsblatt online, August 9, 2016
11. ↑ Kuwait investigating Caracal procurement, Janes, December 21, 2017 ( Memento of December 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive )
12. ↑ Brendan Sobie: Mexican military buys six EC725s ( Memento of March 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
13. ↑ Bartosz Glowacki: Poland begins evaluation tests of H225M Caracal. In: Flightglobal.com. May 15, 2015, accessed on May 16, 2015 (English): “Warsaw announced on April 21 that it had selected the Caracal for the multirole helicopter requirement ahead of the Sikorsky S-70i Black Hawk / S-70B Seahawk and the AgustaWestland AW149 . " 
14. ^ Dominic Perry: Poland defends integrity of multi-role helicopter contest. In: Flightglobal.com. August 12, 2015, accessed August 12, 2015 . 
15. ↑ faz.net: Airbus is outraged by the broken helicopter deal , accessed on October 20, 2016
16. ^ Greg Waldron: Thailand receives first four EC725s. (No longer available online.) In: Flightglobal.com. August 25, 2015, formerly in the original ; accessed on August 25, 2015 (English): "The Thai air force has taken delivery of four Airbus Helicopters EC725 rotorcraft, with another two to be delivered in 2016." 
17. ↑ Gabriel Dominguez: RTAF receives two more H225M helos. In: Flightglobal.com. October 24, 2018, accessed on October 24, 2018 (English): "The Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) has taken delivery of its seventh and eighth H225M ... remaining four platforms, which were ordered in September, are set to be handed over by 2021 " 
18. ↑ High-flying Samaritan - EC 725 Caracal in Afghanistan . In: Flight Revue . Edition March 2009, ISSN  0015-4547 , pp. 48–50.
19. ↑ Eurocopter Cougar EC 725 - Technical Data ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ). In: eurocopter.com . January 19, 2011 (PDF; 436 kB) (English)