Feet Wet

While naval support helicopters remain a key element of any navy, the development of small UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) is gaining pace to provide supplementary capabilities, particularly for long endurance ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) missions.

- Andrew Drwiega

The crash of a CHC Helikopter Service Eurocopter/Airbus Helicopters H-225 Super Puma medium-lift utility helicopter offthe southwest coast of Norway on 29th April 2016 which killed 13 passengers and crew, and the subsequent grounding of the helicopter for oil and gas operations in the area, proved a severe set-back not only to civil sales of this aircraft, but also affected confidence among potential military buyers. Therefore, it was with great relief that the company was able to announce on 8th November 2016 that the Singaporean Ministry of Defence had signed a $1 billion contract to buy an undisclosed number of H-225Ms to replace its aged fleet of AS-332 Super Pumas. Perhaps the order for 30 H-225Ms by the Kuwaiti Ministry of Defence on 9th August 2016 helped to persuade Singaporean military authorities that their decision to stall the purchase, which followed the Norwegian accident, could now be reversed.

In a company press release announcing the news, Guillaume Faury, chief executive officer of Airbus Helicopters said that while: “the Super Puma has served Singapore well for the last 30 years…the addition of the H-225M to the RSAF (Republic of Singapore Air Force) fleet will bring a step change in capabilities.” The current AS-332 fleet is used for a wide variety of operations including troop transport, civil assistance and search and rescue missions, as well as some maritime deployments although the RSAF’s Sikorsky S-70B naval support helicopters perform frigate-based antisubmarine and anti-surface warfare.