The Tokyo Fire Department has ordered a second Eurocopter EC225 helicopter, which will be delivered in 2013.
The department's new 11-ton EC225 will come with a fire-fighting system that includes a belly-mounted water tank, an interior equipped for emergency rescue and avionics for all-weather search and rescue, Eurocopter said in a statement.
It will be assigned to the department's Tachikawa Air Squadron and operate in Tokyo as well as in Japan's rural areas.
"Following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, helicopters from the Tokyo Fire Department's Tachikawa Air Squadron were deployed to perform numerous rescue and logistics missions," Eurocopter said. "Subsequently, it was granted funding to increase the fleet of large rotary-wing aircraft - which proved their effectiveness in times of large-scale disasters."
Source: Flight International
