Germany is to procure separate versions of the Airbus Helicopters H225 for maritime and land-based missions by the Bundespolizei through its interior ministry’s recently announced €1.9 billion ($2 billion) order for 38 examples of the heavy-twin.
Revealed at the ILA Berlin air show on 6 June, the deal, which also includes six options, will see deliveries begin in the fourth quarter of 2029 and run until 2035, as the Federal police replaces its fleet of legacy EC155 medium-twins and AS332 heavy-twins.
The interior ministry says it will acquire both “a land variant and a maritime variant” of the French-built helicopter. The H225s will be equipped with ballistic protection, a winch, electro-optical/infrared sensors, searchlight, communications suite and “special maritime equipment”, the ministry adds. The last of those updates is likely to include emergency floats.
Other modifications over the baseline helicopter include a de-icing system, erosion protection and sand filter, it says.
One year after the first delivery in 2029, the Bundespolizei will begin retiring its current EC155 and AS332 inventory, at a maximum rate of six helicopters per year. However, the ministry sees a period when all three types will be in operation. Deliveries are due to run until 2035.
The ministry says the H225 was chosen after a “multi-year award procedure” at the end of which “the best ‘price-performance offer’ was selected”.
It declines to detail the assessment criteria or the other competitors for the contract, although Airbus Helicopters chief executive Bruno Even has indicated that the H225 had faced competition from the Sikorsky S-92.
