Hungarian military takes delivery of first Airbus H225M
The Hungarian Armed Forces have received the first two of 16 H225M multi-role helicopters on schedule. The helicopter was officially handed over at Szolnok Air Base by Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters. "I am delighted that we have delivered the first H225Ms to Hungary today," said Bruno Even. "The Armed Forces will receive a battle-proven multi-role platform, the latest version of a very successful helicopter family. Together with the light twin-engine H145M already in service, Hungary now has a modern helicopter fleet capable of covering a wide range of military missions and we are proud that our helicopters are the right choice for the country's vitally important missions." The H225Ms selected by Hungary are equipped with state-of-the-art communications capabilities and will be used for transport, search and rescue and special operations. The advanced avionics and four-axis autopilot, exceptional range and payload capacity combined with a large cabin for up to 24 soldiers, as well as powerful air-to-ground and air-to-ground armament and electronic warfare enable the H225M to complete the most demanding missions. The helicopter is all-weather capable and can be equipped with night vision devices. Part of the Hungarian H225M fleet will be equipped with the HForce weapons management system, which provides additional close air support capabilities, thus creating further commonality with the Hungarian H145M fleet, which is also equipped with HForce. Recently, flight tests were carried out in Hungary as part of the integration of a gun pod and rocket launchers into the Hungarian H225M. This military variant of the Super Puma multi-purpose helicopter family is currently in service in France, Brazil, Mexico, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Kuwait and Singapore.