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Singapore– Recently, Singapore has taken delivery of its first-ever transport helicopters from Airbus, as a part of Southeast Asian nation move forward in capitalizing its transport rotorcraft agile.
On Monday, RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) said it has received its first H225M medium-lift transport helicopters from the European company. This came as a substitute for the RSAF’s existing fleet of AS332 Super Pumas from the same producer.
The initial bunch of helicopters were delivered onboard a chartered Antony heavy-lift transport aircraft from Airbus helicopter’s facilities in Marignane Airport in Marseille, France. Until now, Singapore didn’t reveal how many helicopters were delivered in the initial tranche. However, defense News understands that three helicopters arrived in the last week.
The new transport helicopter H225M is quite similar to Super Puma and it is broader like its predecessor. It is up with new engines, an enlarged main cabin, new avionics and so on. It is capable of carrying up to 28 troops in normal-sized cabin seats, or 14 in energy-absorbing wall-mounted seats.
They are also fitted with a nose-mounted electro-optical turret capable of transmitting full-motion video, specifically in low light conditions. It has a defensive suite believed to be made by Elbit Systems. The sources also stated that some of the follow-on aircraft for Singapore will be fitted with a dorsal dome antenna, like a house satellite communications tool or equipment.
Moreover, the RSAF stated that the H225M will be used for a broad spectrum of functions or operations, inclusive of search, rescue and humanitarian assistance, disaster relief as well as Maritime Security operations. Normally, the helicopter fleet is also regularly used to conduct aeromedical evacuation missions from ships wielding via nearby waterways, some of the most active in the world for commercial maritime traffic.
Lastly, it has also not revealed how many of the transport helicopters namely H225M it has ordered, but most probably the final number will be 30. Also, it has placed an order for the Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopter to substitute the existing 16 Chinooks it has in current service. These are already into work, and flying in the US, with deliveries to Singapore expected later in 2021. Out of some of these will be assigned to an RSAF helicopter training detachment stationed in Oakey, Australia.
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