Airbus Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters SAS
Type	Operating Division
Industry	Aerospace
Founded	1992
Founder	Aérospatiale; Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm
Headquarters	Marseille Provence Airport; Marignane, France
Key people	Bruno Even (CEO)
Products	Helicopters
Revenue	€6.5 billion (2021)
Operating income	€535 million (2021)
Number of employees	20,126 (2021)
Parent	Airbus
Subsidiaries	Subsidiaries
Website	www.airbus.com/en/products-services/helicopters

Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, France, near Marseille. The main facilities of Airbus Helicopters are at its headquarters in Marignane, France, and in Donauwörth, Germany, with additional production plants in Canada, Brazil (Helibras), Australia, Spain, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company was renamed from Eurocopter to Airbus Helicopters on 2 January 2014. In 2018, Airbus delivered 356 helicopters, a 54% share of the civil or parapublic market over five seats.

History

Airbus Helicopters was formed in 1992 as Eurocopter Group, through the merger of the helicopter divisions of Aérospatiale and DASA. The company's heritage traces back to Blériot and Lioré et Olivier in France and to Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf in Germany.

Airbus Helicopters and its predecessor companies have established a wide range of helicopter firsts, including the first production turboshaft-powered helicopter (the Aérospatiale Alouette II of 1955); the introduction of the Fenestron shrouded tail rotor (on the Gazelle of 1968); the first helicopter certified for full flight in icing conditions (the AS332 Super Puma, in 1984); the first production helicopter with a Fly-by-wire control system (the NHIndustries NH90, first flown in full FBW mode in 2003); the first helicopter to use a Fly-by-light primary control system (an EC135 testbed, first flown in 2003); and the first ever landing of a helicopter on Mount Everest (achieved by an AS350 B3 in 2005).

As a consequence of the merger of Airbus Helicopters' former parents in 2000, the firm is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus. The creation of what was then called EADS in 2000 also incorporated CASA of Spain, which itself had a history of helicopter-related activities dating back to Talleres Loring, including local assembly of the Bo105.

Today, Airbus Helicopters has four main plants in Europe (Marignane and La Courneuve in France, and Donauwörth and Kassel in Germany), plus 32 subsidiaries and participants around the world, including those in Fort Erie Canada, Brisbane, Australia, Albacete, Spain and Grand Prairie, USA.

Since approximately 2006, Eurocopter has been involved in the planning for the proposed pan-European Future Transport Helicopter project.

As of 2014, more than 12,000 Airbus Helicopters were in service with over 3,000 customers in around 150 countries. Euroopter became Airbus Helicopter at the start of 2014.

Eurocopter sold 422 helicopters in 2013 and delivered 497 helicopters that year. In 2014, AH built a concrete cylinder for testing helicopters before first flight.

In December 2022, it was announced Airbus Helicopters has acquired the Kassel-Calden-headquartered gearbox and component supplier, ZF Luftfahrttechnik from ZF Friedrichshafen for an undisclosed amount. The business will be rebranded as Airbus Helicopters Technik.

Dec 1970

Jan 1992

July 2000

Sep 2000

Jan 2001

Dec 2006

Apr 2009

Sep 2010

Jan 2014

May 2015

Jan 2017

Apr 2017

European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company NV

Airbus Defence and Space SAS

EADS Defence and Security

Airbus Helicopters SAS

Historical emblems

Historical emblems of the company:

1992–2000
2000–2010
2010–2014
2014–2017
2017–present

Products

Some of the helicopters were renamed in 2015, resembling Airbus airplane naming. When the division changed its name from Eurocopter Group to Airbus Helicopters in 2014 the trade names of the products were changed (applied by 1 January 2016) to reflect this. Suffixes, as well as the differentiation for single or twin engines, were no longer to be used. Military versions were to be symbolized by the letter M. The only exceptions to this new branding were the AS365, the AS565, the Tiger and the NH90, which will keep their current names.

Civil Range, Military Range
Original name	New name	Deliveries	MTOW [t]	Powerplant	Capacity
AS355 Écureuil 2		1975-2016	2.54	2 × 420 hp Allison 250	1 pilot + 5/6 passengers
EC120 Colibri B	H120	1998-2017	1.715	1 × 500 hp Arrius 2	1 pilot + 4 passengers
AS350 Écureuil (Squirrel)	H125	1975-present	2.25-2.8	1 × 847 hp Arriel	1 pilot + 5/6 passengers
AS550 Fennec / AS555 Fennec 2	H125M	1990-present	2.25	1 × 850 hp Arriel 2B	2 pilots + 4 troops
EC130 (from AS350)	H130	2001-present	2.5-3.05	1 × 952 hp Arriel 2B	1 pilot + 6/7 passengers
EC135	H135	1996-present	2.98	2 × 627 hp Arrius/PW206	1 pilot + 6/7 passengers
EC635	H135M	1998-present	2.9	2 × 817 hp PW206/Arrius 2B2	1 pilot + 8 troops
EC145 (from BK 117))	H145	2002-present	3.7	2 × 1,072 hp Arriel	2 pilots + 10 passengers
EC645	H145M	2014-present	3.7	2 × 782 hp Arriel	1/2 pilots + 10 troops
AS365 Dauphin		1978-2022	4.3	2 × 961 hp Arriel	2 pilots + 12 passengers
AS565 Panther		1986-present	4.3	2 × 1,129 hp Arriel	2 pilots + 10 troops
EC155	H155	1999-present	4.92	2 × 1,053 hp Arriel	2 pilots + 13 passengers
X4	H160	2019-present	6.05	2 × 1,110-1,300 hp Arrano	2 pilots + 12 passengers
EC175	H175	2014-present	7.8	2 × 2,067 hp PT6	2 pilots + 16/18 passengers
AS332 Super Puma	H215	1980-present	8.6-9.35	2 × 1,877 hp Makila	2 pilots + 15/19 passengers
AS532 Cougar	H215M	1978-present	9-9.35	2 × 1,877 hp Makila	2 pilots + 24 troops + 1 chief
EC225 Super Puma	H225	2004-present	11-11.2	2 × 2,101 hp Makila	2 pilots + 19 passengers
EC725 Caracal	H225M	2005-present	11-11.2	2 × 2,382 hp Makila	2 pilots + 28 troops + 1 chief
NHIndustries NH90	NH90	2006-present	10.6-11	2 × 2,913 hp RTM 322 / GE T700	2 pilots + 20 troops + 1 chief
EC665 Tiger	Tiger	2003-present	6.6	2 × 1,774 hp MTR390	1 pilot + 1 gunner

Projects

X³ rotorcraft – hybrid helicopter with two forward propellers, which achieved a 255-knot speed milestone in level flight in June 2011.
Airbus Helicopters X6 – Two year concept study into the possible launch of an 11.5t helicopter to replace the H225.
Airbus RACER, experimental high-speed compound helicopter developed from the X³, targeting a 2020 first flight.
Airbus CityAirbus, electrically powered VTOL aircraft demonstrator, intended for an air taxi role.