Airbus Helicopters has handed over the first two of eight new H225M Caracal rotorcraft under an April 2021 order for the French air force.
Accepted via France’s DGA defence procurement agency on 20 December 2024, the H225Ms will be employed as replacements for aged Puma transports currently flown in overseas territories Djibouti, French Guyana and New Caledonia.
“We are very proud that the French Air and Space Force has renewed their trust in the Caracal,” says Airbus Helicopters chief executive Bruno Even. “They have proven on multiple occasions the benefit of this rotorcraft for combat, search and rescue, disaster management and medical evacuation missions,” he adds.
Operations with the H225M began in 2006, with the DGA citing 13 as being in French air force service, with another eight flown by the French army.
Enhancements provided with the recently-accepted examples include a Safran Euroflir 410 electro-optical/infrared sensor, plus new communications and navigation equipment and electric-powered winches.
Airbus Helicopters also has secured Brazil, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Singapore, Tanzania and Thailand as export customers for the Caracal, FlightGlobal’s 2025 World Air Forces directory shows.
