The rotorcraft will now be refitted with UK specific mission equipment at Airbus Helicopters UK, Oxford and then handed over to Ascent Flight Training by spring 2017.
Ascent, a Babcock-Lockheed Martin Joint Venture, was awarded the £1.1Bn contract to deliver training for all the UK armed forces’ pilots under the Military Flight Training System framework.
The first rotorcraft was registered in the UK as G-CJIV, the H145 previously bore the German test registration D-HADT following assembly at the manufacturer’s site in Donauwörth near Munich.
Under the rotary-wing element of MFTS, Airbus Helicopters will supply three H145 medium twins as well as 29 light-twin H135s to replace a current fleet of 34 AS350 Squirrel HT1s and 15 Bell Helicopter 412 Griffin HT1s.
If you would like to join our community and read more articles like this then please click here
Airbus Ascent Flight Training Helicopters RAF Army Air Corps