Brunei Purchases 6 Airbus H145M Helicopters

Airbus Helicopters has secured a deal with the Brunei Ministry of Defence for six H145M helicopters.

At a contract agreement signing ceremony in the Bruneian capital, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary Brig Gen (Retd) Haji Alirupendi bin Haji Perudin and Airbus Helicopters Vice President and Head of Sales, Strategy and Marketing Asia Pacific, Fabrice Rochereau inked the contract with other senior government and military officials present.

The H145M is a multi-role military helicopter that provides a broad range of mission capabilities and will replace the retired Bolkow BO105 helicopters formerly flown by the Royal Brunei Air Force (RBAirF). In a statement from the ministry, the helicopters would “significantly enhance the RBAF’s operational capabilities for missions such as Close Air Support (CAS), Aerial Observation, and various other operations.”

“We are greatly honoured by the selection of the H145M to support the Royal Brunei Air Force’s expanded missions,” said CEO of Airbus Helicopters,Bruno Even. “The H145M is well regarded for its high performance and versatility, and we are confident that it will bring a step change in operational readiness to Brunei.”

The H145 platform has accumulated more than seven million flight hours to-date with armed, air and law enforcement forces around the world for the most demanding missions. Brunei is the latest nation to order the H145M, after Cyprus, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Serbia and Thailand.

Powered by two Turbomeca Arriel 2E engines, the H145M is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). In addition, the helicopter is equipped with the Helionix digital avionics suite which, alongside innovative flight data management, includes a high-performance 4-axis autopilot, which considerably reduces pilot workload during missions. Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145M the quietest helicopter in its class.-shp/adj/dl (Pix:Airbus, Brunei MINDEF)