Public services
Search and rescue, law enforcement, firefighting
Public service agencies around the world count on the reliability, performance and efficiency of Airbus rotorcraft for their critical missions. On call every day, Airbus’ light, medium and medium-heavy helicopters are ready for duties that include law enforcement, firefighting, and search and rescue.
Light helicopters
All members of Airbus’ light rotorcraft family are deployed in parapublic missions, accounting for an important percentage of the worldwide fleet.
Members of the single- and twin-engine Ecureuil product line, such as the H125 and H130, are helicopters of choice for many operators. Benefits include their mission versatility, low sound levels, and lift capability to carry mission equipment, observers, light armament, and sling loads.
The twin-engine H135 and H145 are widely used by police forces and other agencies for their large, spacious cabins, wide side doors and rear clamshell doors for loading/unloading, and high-set main and tail rotors for safety during ground operations.
Medium helicopters
Dauphin twin-engine helicopters such as the AS365 N3+ and H155 are workhorses for a diverse range of duties, from border patrol and the deployment of special forces to firefighting and search and rescue missions. Their modern glass cockpits incorporate digital avionics and a 4-axis autopilot, allowing pilots to concentrate on the mission.
The H175 is a highly capable platform for search and rescue missions and parapublic applications. The large cabin is enhanced by very low vibration levels and a smooth ride – even at high speeds.
Heavy helicopters
Airbus’ Super Puma family, which includes the H225, combine excellent payload lift and range capabilities for highly demanding missions with law enforcement agencies and fire departments.
The extremely large cabin, coupled with the helicopters’ high cruise speed and smooth ride, make Super Pumas the perfect choice for missions requiring transport of tactical personnel or long-range search missions. They can carry full SWAT teams with rappelling/fast rope deployment capabilities, and can be equipped with external hoists and search & weather radar, among other mission equipment.
Search and rescue
Perhaps the most iconic rotorcraft in search and rescue (SAR) is the U.S. Coast Guard HH-65C Dauphin. With some 100 of these aircraft in service, the HH-65C is used by the Coast Guard along the country’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts, in the Gulf of Mexico and the Hawaiian Islands.
Airbus enhancements to the Dauphin have prepared it for new missions such as armed interdiction of surface vessels involved in smuggling, as well as security and intercept air patrols over the United States capital, Washington, D.C.
The Finnish Border Guard has flown AS332 L1 Super Pumas (now known as the H215 family) for more than a quarter century for maritime search and rescue missions.
Also operating Airbus rotorcraft are the Spanish Maritime Safety Agency (SASEMAR), with an H225 for maritime SAR and pollution control missions; Switzerland’s Rega operating the EC145; and the offshore oil and gas industry flying the Super Puma on rescue missions.
Firefighting
Japan has been flying Airbus products for firefighting missions since 1967.
The Tokyo Fire Department operates medium Dauphins and medium-heavy H225s for firefighting, emergency medical services, and search and rescue missions.
The Nagoya City Fire Bureau has flown Airbus products for over 40 years, currently operating AS365 N3+ Dauphins.
The H225s of the South Korean national 119 Rescue Service and the Chinese Guangzhou police are equipped with an Airbus firefighting system consisting of a flexible 4,000-liter tank, a scoop and water jettison kit, and a system of hatches underneath the fuselage to empty the tank. The tank can be pumped full with the helicopter in hover flight.
In the United States, Georgia-based Helicopter Express deploys the H125 as a contractor for the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Interior – performing aerial water delivery, prescribed burning, rappelling operations, and personnel delivery.
Law enforcement
The Los Angeles Police Department's inventory of Ecureuil AS350 B2 helicopters (now part of the H125 family) is a key component in one of the world’s largest municipal police aviation units. The rotorcraft are used to assist ground units, observe pursuits during the city’s famous car chases, and provide support for undercover police operations.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department deploys AS350s and the larger H215 Super Puma helicopters for missions ranging from patrol and pursuit to search, rescue and the transport of special teams across its massive coverage area.
In addition to many local law enforcement agencies across the United States with Ecureuil, H135 and EC145 helicopters, the U.S. federal Customs and Border Protection agency operates both the H120 and AS350 versions (now the H125). They are flown along the country’s southwest border region with Mexico – which covers a distance of more than 2,000 miles of harsh and inhospitable terrain, where the threats of drug trafficking, alien smuggling and terrorism converge.
Infographics and documents
Airbus Helicopters, Inc. (AHI) has delivered the first of 16 new H125 helicopters uniquely configured for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO). AMO collaborated with AHI as part of a long-term fleet upgrade initiative, and the resulting configuration has led to one of the most advanced, high-tech law enforcement helicopters ever developed.
