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Airbus Helicopters

From Alfawiki
Airbus Helicopters SAS
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryAerospace, Defense
PredecessorEurocopter S.A.
Founded1992; 34 years ago (1992)
Headquarters
Marignane
,
France
Area served
Worldwide
ProductsHelicopters
ParentAirbus

Overview

Airbus Helicopters SAS—previously known as Eurocopter S.A. and operating under the trade name Eurocopter Group—functions as the helicopter manufacturing branch of Airbus. It ranks as the industry's leader based on revenue and turbine helicopter deliveries, commanding a 48% share of the global market as of 2020.[1] The company’s headquarters are situated at Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, France, in close proximity to Marseille.[2]

The principal manufacturing sites are located at the Marignane headquarters in France and in Donauwörth, Germany. Additional production facilities operate in Spain, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The enterprise was originally established as Eurocopter before adopting the Airbus Helicopters name on 2 January 2014.[3]

History

Airbus Helicopters originated in 1992 under the name Eurocopter S.A., created by merging the helicopter divisions of Aérospatiale and DASA. Its roots extend to pioneering companies such as Blériot and Lioré et Olivier in France, alongside Germany's Messerschmitt and Focke-Wulf. Prior to this consolidation, Aérospatiale commanded approximately 33% of the global helicopter market, while DASA held about 8%. Consequently, Eurocopter's ownership was apportioned with a 70% stake for Aérospatiale and 30% for DASA, reflecting their relative influence within the new organization.

Throughout its history and predecessor entities, Eurocopter has been responsible for numerous helicopter industry milestones. These include producing the first turboshaft-powered helicopter—the Aérospatiale Alouette II in 1955—and introducing the innovative Fenestron enclosed tail rotor on the 1968 Aérospatiale Gazelle. The company also achieved certification for full-flight operations in icing conditions with the AS332 Super Puma in 1984. Eurocopter pioneered the use of a fly-by-wire control system in production helicopters through the NHIndustries NH90, which first flew entirely under FBW control in 2003. That same year saw the debut of a fly-by-light primary control system on an EC135 test platform. Another notable accomplishment was the first helicopter landing on Mount Everest, completed by an AS350 B3 in 2005.

Following the merger of Aérospatiale and DASA in 2000 that established Airbus, Eurocopter was rebranded as Airbus Helicopters and became a wholly owned subsidiary within this aerospace conglomerate. This restructuring also incorporated Spain's CASA, which brought its own legacy in helicopter manufacturing and assembly dating back to Talleres Loring, including local production of the Bo105.

Currently, Airbus Helicopters operates four principal manufacturing facilities across Europe: two located in France (Marignane and La Courneuve) and two in Germany (Donauwörth and Kassel). Additionally, the company maintains 32 subsidiaries and joint ventures worldwide, with presence in locations such as Itajubá, Brazil; Fort Erie, Canada; Brisbane, Australia; Albacete, Spain; and Grand Prairie, USA.

Since around 2006, Eurocopter has participated in initiatives to develop the pan-European Future Transport Helicopter program.

By 2014, Airbus Helicopters had more than 12,000 aircraft operational globally, serving over 3,000 customers across approximately 150 countries. The transition from Eurocopter to Airbus Helicopters officially took place at the beginning of that year.

In 2013, Eurocopter sold 422 helicopters and delivered a total of 497 units. The following year saw Airbus Helicopters construct a specialized concrete testing cylinder designed to facilitate pre-flight helicopter evaluations.

In December 2022, Airbus Helicopters completed its acquisition of ZF Luftfahrttechnik, a gearbox and component supplier headquartered in Kassel-Calden, from ZF Friedrichshafen. This entity was subsequently renamed Airbus Helicopters Technik.

In May 2024, Airbus Helicopters entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to support financing for civil helicopter acquisitions within India.

Historical Logos

The company's past logos include the following:

Product Range

In 2015, several helicopter models were renamed to align with Airbus's airplane naming conventions.[4] Following the rebranding from Eurocopter Group to Airbus Helicopters in 2014, product names were updated by January 1, 2016, to reflect this change. The use of suffixes and distinctions between single and twin-engine models was discontinued. Military variants were designated with an "M" suffix. Notably, the AS365, AS565, Tiger, and NH90 retained their original names.[5]

Model Category Engine Type Image Year Introduced Maximum Takeoff Weight
t (lb)
H125 Lightweight Single-engine File:Airbus H125 - Los Angeles Police Department Air Support (cropped).jpg 1975 2.25 (5,000)
H130 Lightweight Single-engine File:Eurocopter 130 SP-MTB 3 (modified).jpg 2001 2.5 (5,500)
H135 Lightweight Twin-engine File:EC-135 - RIAT 2011 (6199185182).jpg 1996 2.98 (6,600)
H140 Lightweight Twin-engine — 2025 3.17 (7,000)
H145 Lightweight Twin-engine File:Stanford EC145.jpg 2002 3.7 (8,200)
H155 Medium-weight Twin-engine File:Hong Kong Government Flying Service Eurocopter EC-155B-1; B-HRU@HKG;04.08.2011 (6260084063).jpg 1999 4.92 (10,800)
H160 Medium-weight Twin-engine File:Airbus Helicopters H160 (cropped).jpg 2019 6.05 (13,300)
H175 'Super medium' 'Twin engine' '[[File:H175M (52272090596).jpg\]|150x150px]' '2014' 'Template:Convert\'

'|-'

'H215' 'Heavyweight' 'Twin engine' '[[File:AS332M1 Super Puma - RIAT 2014 (center).jpg\]|150x150px]' '1980' 'Template:Convert\'

'|-'

'H225' 'Heavyweight' 'Twin engine' '[[File:Airbus Helicopters H225 Super Puma Helimer 401 (cropped).jpg\]|150x150px]' '2004' 'Template:Convert\'

'|-'

'NH90{{efn\{via 62.5% share in NHIndustries joint venture\}}' 'Military utility' 'Twin engine' '[[File:78+29 German Army NHIndustries NH90 TTH ILA Berlin 2016 19.jpg\]|150x150px]' '2006' 'Template:Convert\'

'|-'

'\Tiger' 'Military attack' 'Twin engine' '[[File:Eurocopter EC-665 Tiger UHT (crooped).jpg\]|150x150px]' '2003' 'Template:Convert\'


Projects

  • X3 rotorcraft – a hybrid helicopter featuring two forward-facing propellers, which reached a top speed of 255 knots in level flight during June 2011.[6]
  • Airbus Helicopters X6 – A conceptual study spanning two years assessing the potential introduction of an 11.5-ton helicopter designed to succeed the H225 model.[7][8]
  • Airbus RACER, an innovative high-speed compound helicopter derived from the X3, with a targeted maiden flight scheduled for 2020.
  • Airbus CityAirbus, an electrically powered VTOL demonstrator aircraft, developed with the objective of serving as an urban air taxi.

See also

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Prominent competitors in the helicopter manufacturer sector include:

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  2. ↑ "Legal Notice and Disclaimer Archived 12 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine." Airbus Helicopters. Retrieved on 24 January 2014. "[...]whose registered Office is located Aéroport International Marseille-Provence – 13725 Marignane Cedex – France"
  3. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  4. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  5. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  6. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  7. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
  8. ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2123: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).

Note

External links

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