THE SPANISH defence ministry has selected the Eurocopter Cougar for its army transport-helicopter requirement. The order, for 15 machines, has yet to be approved by the Government, however.
Spain's air force, already operates 15 Super Pumas, (from which the Cougar is derived) but the army deal was, nevertheless, hotly contested by Sikorsky, offering the Black Hawk.
The choice is as much political as technical, Eurocopter having made a powerful offset offer benefiting Spanish aerospace. Under the deal, France has agreed to buy seven CASA CN235 transports, while CASA will also receive about 40% of the fuselage work on the Cougars. The Spanish subsidiary of France's Thomson-CSF will also be involved in the supply of simulators.
Source: Flight International
