German special forces select EC645 T2

[Harry O]

German special forces select the EC645 T2
Germany selects EC645 T2 LUH for special forces - News - Shephard (http://www.shephardmedia.com/news/rotorhub/germany-selects-eurocopters-ec645-t2-luh-special-f/)
"The helicopter can be strategically airlifted in an Airbus A400M and quickly prepared for the mission upon arrival in a theatre of operations."

Mentions a fenestron which is not shown in the photo.

[cragman]

Certainly sounds like a good bit of kit.

[chopper2004]

That's because the only mil Ec145 or flying around. The mock of the EC645T2 up ( Please see my pic below :) admittedly the Eurocopter stand wasn't photo friendly tbh.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/image_zpsb5e697c6.jpg

AFAIK then EC645T2 hasn't flown yet and when Eurocopter were trying the AAS-72X Armed Scout demo to US Army, they used D-HADW a civilian demonstrator of (which I saw at Heli Expo a few months ago) flying beside an UH-72

Cheers

P.s @ moderators should this thread be moved to EC145 thread?

[DirtDiver]

That is some nice piece of equipment :) i wouldn't mind flying it :)

[Thone1]

It´s not what the special forces want.
They were looking for something a lot smaller, more along the size of a Kiowa.
But then someone along the line thought it would be nice to get the aircraft IF-rated and twin-engined and so on and so forth.

And obviously it had to be a Eurocopter. Because we´re having such great experiences with EC building military aircraft.

The whole process was tailored so that only the EC 145 would be an option.
An aircraft too big and with too much technology for those short hops to deploy and recover special forces.

Besides: It hasn´t flown yet. Why so complicated?

Tom

P.S.: It´s a boy!

[Anthony Supplebottom]

They were looking for something a lot smaller, more along the size of a Kiowa.

I am certain that if the German government rescinded their order with Eurocopter, Bell would be willing to offer their new 407GT (http://www.bellhelicopter.com/en_US/Commercial/Bell407GT/1192822724021.html#/?tab=highlights-tab)! :E

[Jet Ranger]

Well...Mercedes-Benz is always Mercedes-Benz :O

JR

[PhlyingGuy]

Yep... Like there was any shot that they would pick any other OEM.... Now the USG on the other hand....

[Harry the Hun]

And it sounds like a bargain as well, 15 Helicopters for 200 Million. Could have gotten 15 139s for that price. At least they could have been sold away once you find out they are not the right choice :-)

[Thone1]

Isn´t the whole idea that we use them to help EC to sell them worldwide?

Only problem is, similar to the NH-90: no one wants to buy them...

Tom

[HeliHenri]

.
Hello Thone,

The US Army and Navy fly 250 of them (without the fenestron) and will get 320 at the end.

They are very happy with them so if you prefer Kiowa to do insertion and extraction of special ops :eek:, maybe you can make a deal, I'm sure they will be agree !

One of them in Germany :

UH-72 Lakota - Takeoff at Bayreuth hospital - YouTube

.

[heli1]

Throne...you are talking rubbish. The new EC645T2 is the same as the 145T2 with the benefit of the Lakota militarisation ( and cost reductions) and weaponry proved on the Iraqi EC635. So a first flight is merely academic.
And several hundred NH90s have been sold ...not bad for a helicopter that is in very early stages of its service...admittedly delayed due to the many variants needing certification.

[ZH875]

"The helicopter can be strategically airlifted in an Airbus A400M and quickly prepared for the mission upon arrival in a theatre of operations."



Oh goody, they get a helicopter that hasn't flown yet, that can be carried in an aircraft they don't have yet.

Is either likely to be in service before 2020?

[alouette]

Can the german tax payers afford this junk...?

[Bravo73]

Can the german tax payers afford this junk...?

The German tax payers can currently afford to pay for/bail out the rest of their European neighbours so a few little helicopters? I imagine so. ;)

[alouette]

I'll be darned...und alles nur um den Euro zu retten...

[RotaryWingB2]

What's with all the EC145 bad mouthing? Sales figures alone prove its a good aircraft. The C1 and the Bo105 before it too.

The D2 will prove to be just as popular.

[chopper2004]

If it helps, when I was in the Bell chalet at Le Bourget on the wednesday, a Bundeswehr delegation including a very nice young blonde Luftwaffe officer arrived as invited guests :)

I wondered why then remembered there are still UH-1D n service with the Heeresflieger :) and maybe some examples left n the Luftwaffe (after the swap over whereby the Luftwaffe got the heavy lift CH-53G and the Heeresflieger got the NH90 as well as the SAR mission )

Good luck with the EC645T2 as I think I read in Combat Aircraft, there was talk of be UH-72B model based on the T2 proposed for the US Army with talks with American Eurocopter

Cheers

[krautland]

Anyone know why the US Army and Navy fly them without the fenestron?
Is it just cost?

[HeliHenri]

.
Hello krautland,

The version with fenestron (EC 145 T2 / EC 645 T2) is the new one, first deliveries within few months for the 145T2.

The 645T2 is proposed for the Armed Aerial Scout program of the US Army.
.

[krautland]

thank you, helihenry. makes sense.

[chopper2004]

Also Krautland, if you happen to be near Donauworth.....might be worth a visit to see whats been test flown around the area. In terms of the T2, on the civilian side, first deliveries this year should go to your DRF and our Bond Air Services for the East Anglian Air Ambulance and Scottish Air Ambulance.

I suspect anything else military wise may be for restricted viewing lol :)

Cheers

[skadi]

As far as I remember, the launching customer of the T2 is INAER. So the first one will go to Spain...

skadi

[chopper2004]

Bond Aviation Group is part of the INAER / Avinicius Group:) mate

The CEO of the East Anglian Air Ambulance told me the first T2 of the production line will go to them as Bond has the contract to supply the aircraft and crew.

Cheers

[skadi]

Bond Aviation Group is part of the INAER / Avinicius Grouphttp://images.ibsrv.net/ibsrv/res/src:www.pprune.org/get/images/smilies/smile.gif mate

The CEO of the East Anglian Air Ambulance told me the first T2 of the production line will go to them as Bond has the contract to supply the aircraft and crew.

Cheers Thanks :ok:

I just remembered this info from 2011:

EC145 T2 Launch Customers | Eurocopter Events (http://events.eurocopter.com/de/article/ec145-t2-launch-customers)

Skadi

[John Eacott]

It's been a while, but the first flight (http://www.defensenews.com/article/20141204/DEFREG01/312040024/Helo-German-Special-Forces-Conducts-First-Flight) :ok:

BERLIN — In June of 2013, the German Army ordered from Airbus Helicopters 15 new multirole helicopters for its KSK Special Forces Command. Last week, representatives from the German military watched as the EC645 T2 successfully completed its first flight at the company’s facility in Donauwörth, Bavaria.

“This first flight is a milestone in the EC645 T2 program and we’re thrilled to be able to celebrate this event with our customer,” said Ralf Barnscheidt, head of the company’s German Military Support Center.

The lightweight helicopter is the military version of the civil EC145 T2 that went into service in July of this year. It features a Helionix digital avionics suite with full night vision and a four-axis autopilot.

The helicopter, which can be strategically airlifted in an Airbus A400M and quickly prepared for missions upon arrival in theater, closes a gap for German Special Forces Command because of its multirole capability. It can be used for a range of military operations including transportation, reconnaissance, search and rescue, fire support, and evacuation of wounded soldiers.

Delivery is slated to start at the end of 2015, said Airbus Helicopters spokesman Claas Belling.

“We are waiting for certification and military testing so there are still a number of question marks behind everything, and it doesn’t just depend on us, but it will happen at the end of 2015, that’s for sure,” he said.

Thailand is the second country to commit to the EC645 T2, having signed a deal for five aircraft to be operated by the Royal Thai Navy. But Belling said that Airbus is in talks about export activities with several other countries.

“Many of them are waiting for the first flights to see how it performs with the German Special Forces, and we have every reason to hope that it will be a success,” he said.

http://cmsimg.defensenews.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=M5&Date=20141204&Category=DEFREG01&ArtNo=312040024&Ref=AR&MaxW=640&Border=0&Helo-German-Special-Forces-Conducts-First-Flight

[tigerfish]

Kroutland, To put Heli Henrys explanation in simpler form, The earlier C1 version of the EC145 reveals its direct decendency from the original BK117 airframe. Only the front end received the full EC135 style treatment plus fly by wire type controls.
The aircraft was a success as originally planned but buyers immediately started to press for the full EC135 look with a Fenestron and that resulted in further development into the full C2 version which also made it much quieter.
TF

[HeliHenri]

.

Hello tigerfish,

C1 is the 117 (including A1/A3/A4/B1/B2)

C2 is the 145 http://easa.europa.eu/system/files/dfu/EASA-MMEL-BK117_C--2-01-26022014.pdf

D2 is the 145 T2 http://easa.europa.eu/system/files/dfu/MMEL%20BK117%20D-2%20EASA%20Revision%200_signoff.pdf

.

[212man]

..plus fly by wire type controls

Could you expand on this?

[RVDT]

Fence wire - not electrical wire? :)

The 145 has "control cables" similar to a Bowden cable yet they are "ball-bearing cables".

EC135 Tail has the same yet on 145 has the MR cables in the windscreen frame and no control run in the cabin.

Google - Flexball Control Cables

365N is similar in the door frame.

[chopper2004]

http://www.airbushelicopters.com/website/en/press/Airbus-Helicopters-delivers-the-first-two-H145M-to-the-German-Armed-Forces_1871.html

cheers

(photo courtesy of Airbus Helicopters)

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g209/longranger/H145M%20LUH%20SOF%20-%20German_Bundeswehr_copy_Copyright%20Airbus%20Helicopters_z ps7nbjedjf.jpg