24/09/2013 Michel Cabirol – LaTribune.fr

La filiale hélicoptériste d'EADS a décidé d'augmenter la capacité de son usine implantée à Colombus dans le Mississippi (Etats-Unis) en y installant début 2014 une chaine d'assemblage d'AS350. Les syndicats sont inquiets.

Petit à petit, l'Ecureuil se fait la malle aux Etats-Unis... Eurocopter a décidé d'augmenter la capacité de son usine implantée à Colombus dans le Mississippi (Etats-Unis) en y installant début 2014 une chaine d'assemblage d'AS350, le fameux Ecureuil qui l'un des best-sellers de la filiale hélicoptériste d'EADS (249 appareils vendus en 2012, 238 en 2011). Une décision justifiée par Eurocopter pour "compenser l'impact de la réduction de la production locale d'UH-72A Lakota (LUH, ndlr)", un programme d'hélicoptères légers fournis par constructeur européen et brutalement interrompu au printemps dernier par le Pentagone en raison de coupes budgétaires. Eurocopter a déjà livré plus de 280 appareils à l'armée de terre américaine.

Une délocalisation en zone dollar

C'est une délocalisation en zone dollar qui ne dit pas son nom même si aujourd'hui l'impact social est très limité. Une décision qui s'inscrit parfaitement dans la stratégie du patron d'EADS, Tom EADS, qui avait fait le choix l'année dernière d'installer une chaine A320 aux Etats-Unis dans l'Alabama. Le site de Marignane, près de Marseille, perdrait "l'équivalent de 14 emplois en charge d'atelier (personnel non inscrit)", estime Force Ouvrière. Le projet concernerait "50 hélicoptères en moins pour la chaine d'assemblage Ecureuil de Marignane", assure de son côté la CFDT.

Les deux syndicats sont vent debout contre cette décision. "Nous ne pouvons donc pas se satisfaire d'une politique de transfert de charge", tonne FO. Chez Eurocopter, on rappelle que le site de Colombus recevait déjà des Ecureuil en kit fabriqués en Europe. Au total, la filiale américaine, American Eurocopter, a livré 42 Ecureuil en 2012. Selon Eurocopter, l'AS350 "est le premier choix aux Etats-Unis des agences gouvernementales et des services médicaux d'urgence".

Colombus produira 60 appareils supplémentaires en 2016

Eurocopter prévoit un démarrage de la nouvelle chaîne d'assemblage à partir du "quatrième trimestre 2014" et une montée en puissance en 2015. "L'usine produira jusqu'à 60 hélicoptères supplémentaires annuellement avant 2016", explique Eurocopter dans un communiqué. Soit un total de 94 appareils fabriqués par le site de Colombus. Cette usine "ne doit sa future survie qu'au transfert de 94 appareils Ecureuil d'Eurocopter Marignane vers les USA", souligne FO.

Et tout comme la CFDT, FO rappelle que le constructeur n'a fourni "aucune garantie concernant l'arrêt du transfert de charge" après 2016. Colombus, qui continuera à fabriquer et à moderniser les UH-72A Lakota de l'armée de terre américaine et des autres agences fédérales, deviendra également un site d'essai pour les parties fabriquées par Eurocopter et ses sous-traitants.

De nombreuses questions sur la stratégie d'Eurocopter

Pour la CFDT, ce projet pose de nombreuses questions sur la stratégie d'Eurocopter vis-à-vis d'un certain nombre de contrats. "Le contrat EC145/LUH se termine un an plus tôt que prévu. Toutefois, cette fin était prévisible, explique le coordinateur CFDT chez EADS, Didier Hacquart. Avait-elle été anticipée lors de la décision de la création de la chaine EC145/LUH au Mississippi ? Quelle était l'objectif de l'implantation de cette chaine, sachant qu'il existait déjà des installations d'Eurocopter aux USA ?"

Et le responsable CFDT estime qu'il y a "une évolution de la stratégie d'Eurocopter" même s'il rappelle qu'il est "admis que pour l'obtention de contrats militaires à l'export il est nécessaire de faire des compensations industrielles, voire de s'implanter dans le pays". A la fin d'un contrat export contenant des compensations industrielles, Eurocopter ne s'engageait pas jusqu'ici à maintenir une activité sur place une fois le programme exécuté. Et le responsable syndical de s'interroger : "que se passera-t-il à l'issue des contrats AS332 (Super Puma, ndlr) au Brésil et au Mexique ? Devrons-nous à nouveau transférer de l'activité de Marignane pour maintenir l'activité dans ces filiales ?".

Eurocopter vise de nouveaux contrats aux Etats-Unis

Outre la volonté de compenser l'impact de l'arrêt du programme LUH, Eurocopter souhaite grâce au maintien d'une production locale augmenter ses ventes sur le marché américain, particulièrement avec le gouvernement et les agences gouvernementales (police, sécurité civile...). "L'Amérique du Nord est le plus grand marché d'hélicoptères légers dans le monde pour Eurocopter et cette nouvelle chaîne d'assemblage soutient notre stratégie industrielle en fabriquant le best-seller AS350 "Made in USA" près à nos clients", a jugé le vice-président exécutif de la supply chain mondiale d'Eurocopter, Joseph Saporito.

Quels contrats vise Eurocopter aux Etats-Unis ? Le Pentagone pourrait lancer dans le courant du second semestre 2013 un appel d'offre en vue de renouveler la flotte d'hélicoptères de reconnaissance OH-58 Kiowa du constructeur américain Bell dans le cadre du programme AAS (Aerial armed scout). Le contrat pourrait porter sur 500 machines, soit un contrat évalué entre 6 et 8 milliards de dollars. Le constructeur présentera l'EC645. En revanche, Eurocopter ne participera pas à la compétition Joint Multi-Role (JMR) en vue de remplacer les célèbres Black Hawk. "L'objectif est aussi de gagner des futurs contrat s en s'engageant sur 10 ventes gouvernementales d'appareils en plus par an avec un produit "Made In USA", explique par ailleurs FO.

The Sikorsky S-97 Raider fuselage prior to departure from Aurora Flight Sciences in West Virginia last week. (Sikorsky)

Sep. 23, 2013 - By AARON MEHTA – Defense News

WASHINGTON — Sikorsky will begin final assembly of its S-97 Raider helicopter prototype this week, according to company officials.

That puts the helicopter manufacturer — which is competing for the US Army’s Armed Aerial Scout program — on track for a first flight at the end of 2014.

“It’s just a really exciting foundational milestone for us, and it’s great to be leaving the design phase of Raider and getting into the build phase,” Chris Van Buiten, Sikorsky Innovations vice president, said.

The Raider is based on the X-2 technology developed by Sikorsky in the late 2000s, but grows the size and weight significantly. Where the X-2 demonstrator was a one-person, 5,000-pound platform, the Raider will be roughly 11,000 pounds with room for six troops in its combat assault mode. In reconnaissance mode, that space could be used for extra equipment or ammunition.

Despite that growth, Sikorsky executives are confident the design will bring a mix of speed and maneuverability that helicopters have not yet achieved.

“This thing has to fly faster than 220 knots” at cruising speed, Van Buiten said when asked about key performance targets. “It has got to do more than a 3G turn at speed. It has to demonstrate hover at 10,000 feet and 95 degrees. Those are the non-negotiables.”

The fuselage, assembled by Aurora Flight Sciences in a West Virginia facility, arrived at Sikorsky’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility Sept. 20. A composite airframe, the fuselage has been tested to tolerate bird strikes at 230 knots and has shown very low drag, according to the company.

The Armed Aerial Scout program aims to replace the Army’s fleet of OH-58 Kiowa Warriors, in use since the late 1960s. The winner of the program is expected to last well past 2050, meaning the competition would be a long-term windfall for the winner.

Army officials visited with competitors AgustaWestland, Boeing, EADS and Bell Helicopter during the summer of 2012, but the top acquisition adviser to the secretary of the Army told a congressional hearing in May that “we didn’t find a single aircraft that was out there that could meet the Army’s requirements.”

Sikorsky is confident is can fill that role — assuming the replacement program can get funding.

As with all programs in the Pentagon, the Armed Aerial Scout is facing budget challenges. Speaking Sept. 19 on the Hill, Army Chief of Staff Gen. Ray Odierno indicated the program is at risk if sequestration continues.

“In the event sequestration-level discretionary caps continue into FY14, we will assume significant risk in our combat vehicle development,” Odierno said. “In our aviation program, we cannot afford to procure a new Armed Aerial Scout program and we will be forced to reduce the production and modernization of 25 helicopters.”

Despite such warnings, Sikorsky remains confident the Army will find the money to fund the program, according to Steve Engebretson, the company’s Advanced Military Programs director.

“It’s a tough financial environment, but the fact Odierno highlighted this program reflects the level of importance the Army has in that mission,” he said. “To me, it’s at least a sign that if there is a way the Army can get that program going, they will find a way to do that.”

“We understand the climate we’re operating in,” added Van Buiten. “We’re committed to demonstrating this technology, but we understand the customer has a lot of priorities to balance. Our job is to open up the aperture of what’s possible with them.”

Both men can be sanguine, in part, because the development of the Raider has been entirely funded by Sikorsky and its industry partners. While the S-97 is being designed with Armed Aerial Scout in mind, it will also serve as a test bed for further X-2 technologies, which could then go onto future Sikorsky products. Additionally, the company sees the Raider as a demonstrator for a larger machine that would fit the Army’s Joint Multi-Role helicopter replacement program for the service’s Blackhawk fleet.

In other words, the company sees ways to recoup its investment in the prototype even if the program never comes through. That company investment is a point of pride for Van Buiten, whose team was responsible for the design and creation of the Raider.

“We’ve created this innovations group, and one of our charters is to demonstrate differentiating technology that creates competitive advantages for us or all new capability for our customers,” he said. “We don’t have the luxury of using traditional timelines and budgets to do it.”

If the project continues on target, the Raider prototype’s first flight will take place roughly 48 months after its clean-sheet design, a much faster pace than the defense industry normally sees. While costs are not set, the company has estimated it could produce the platform in production quantities for as little as $15 million a copy, including mission system packages.

There is also a potential international market for the technology through the Foreign Military Sales program. The company has been in contact with “several very close allies of the US” about the technology, Engebretson said.

While declining to name which countries might be interested, he said the “international interest roughly equals the quantities the US government is thinking about, in the hundreds.”

Sept 22, 2013 Spacewar.com (AFP)

Ankara - Turkey's air force on Sunday paid tribute to the crew who shot down a Syrian military helicopter which it said had violated Turkish airspace.

Air Force Commander General Akin Ozturk has "honoured the personnel who applied rules of engagement toward a Syrian helicopter which refused to leave the airspace last week despite warnings," the air force command said in a statement.

Turkish warplanes on Monday downed the Syrian helicopter which Ankara said was detected two kilometres (about a mile) inside Turkish airspace.

Turkey changed its rules of engagement after the downing of one of its fighter jets by the Syrian air force in June 2012.

The government had warned that any military approach from Syria on the Turkish border would be considered a threat.

Relations between once close allies Damascus and Ankara have deteriorated since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in March 2011.

The long and volatile border between the two countries has become increasingly tense, with a number of incidents in the area, which prompted NATO to station Patriot missile batteries there for defencive purposes.

WASHINGTON, September 18 (RIA Novosti)

A group of US lawmakers is urging Attorney General Eric Holder to assist the Pentagon’s criminal investigation into an Army aviation unit which granted contracts worth tens of millions of dollars to Russian and US firms for the maintenance and overhaul of Russian Mi-17 helicopters.

Nine senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to Holder Monday expressing ‘great concern’ regarding allegations of criminal activity related to the helicopter program, writing that “The prospect that American taxpayers have been made into unwitting victims of corruption demands special scrutiny.”

The lawmakers urged Holder "to utilize all available resources, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation to support any criminal investigation into these matters."

Defense Department investigators are studying potential personal connections and possibly “improper” payments between the former head of the Army’s Non-Standard Rotary Wing Aircraft (NSRWA) unit and two Russian-owned subcontractors, Avia Baltika and St. Petersburg Aircraft Repair Co. (SPARC), according to Reuters.

The maintenance deals under investigation are part of a broader Pentagon program to purchase and upgrade Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters for use in Afghanistan.

The lawmakers’ letter to Holder also said, “Since 2011, NSRWA has negotiated and executed more than $1 billion worth of contracts for procurement of these Russian aircraft from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s state-controlled arms exporter who simultaneously continues to supply weapons and ammunition to the Syrian government.”

There has been stern opposition from some members of Congress to the Pentagon’s dealings with Rosoboronexport, which is not a focus of the investigation, according to Reuters.

Justice Department spokesman Michael Passman said in an email cited by Reuters Tuesday: "We have received the letter, and we are reviewing it."

16 septembre 201318h29 Romandie.com (AFP)

ANKARA - La Turquie a abattu lundi un hélicoptère militaire syrien qui avait violé son espace aérien, a déclaré le vice-Premier ministre turc Bulent Arinc.

Un hélicoptère MI-17 syrien a été détecté dans l'espace aérien turc à 14h20 (11h20 GMT), a dit M. Arinc à des journalistes.

Il a été averti de manière répétée par notre défense aérienne, mais comme la violation (de l'espace aérien turc) continuait, il est tombé en territoire syrien à 14h25 (11h25 GMT) après avoir été touché par des missiles tirés par nos avions, a déclaré le responsable turc.

La chute d'un hélicoptère de l'armée syrienne près de la frontière avait été annoncée auparavant par l'Observatoire syrien des droits de l'homme (OSDH).

M. Arinc a ajouté qu'il ne disposait pas d'informations sur le sort de l'hélicoptère parce que l'appareil était tombé en territoire syrien.

Depuis le début il y a deux ans et demi de la révolte en Syrie contre le pouvoir du président Bachar al-Assad, le gouvernement du Premier ministre Recep Tayyip Erdogan, jusqu'alors allié de la Syrie, s'est retourné contre elle. M. Erdogan milite ouvertement pour la chute du président Assad et soutient la rébellion syrienne.

Le directeur de l'OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahmane, a déclaré à l'AFP que l'hélicoptère était tombé en territoire syrien. Il a ajouté que l'un de ses deux pilotes, qui ont réussi à s'éjecter, avait été fait prisonnier par les rebelles alors que le sort de l'autre restait inconnu.

Des agences de presse turques ont confirmé que l'hélicoptère était tombé du côté syrien de la frontière.

Depuis le début du conflit, les rebelles ont abattu des avions et des hélicoptères militaires syriens.

L'armée syrienne a abattu en juin 2012 un avion turc en affirmant qu'il avait violé son espace aérien.

MANILA, Sept. 12 (UPI)

The Philippines has stopped the bidding process for the purchase of second-hand Huey UH-1 helicopters for a third time, the Manila Bulletin reports.

The Department of National Defense announced the halt after only one supplier put in a bid to supply the Bell UH-1 Iroquois -- unofficially called Hueys -- helicopters.

The Huey is powered by a single turbo-shaft engine with a two-bladed main rotor and tail rotor.

But the DND said it hasn't given up on buying 21 combat Hueys within its allocated budget of about $28.8 million, the Bulletin reported.

"While it is unfortunate that we have to declare the [failed] bidding, we're still going to pursue the implementation of this project," National Defense Undersecretary for Finance, Munitions, Installation and Materiel Fernando Manalo said.

The purchase is essential for the air force because of the deteriorating condition of many Hueys now in service.

The lone bidder for the project was the joint venture of Rice Aircraft Services and Eagle Copters.

But the joint venture was declared ineligible due because it failed to satisfy some documentary requirements, the Bulletin reported.

Defense officials will ask the air force to recommend how it now wishes to pursue the acquisition.

"It should be the end user who will have the final say after what happened," Manalo said."It can be a negotiated procurement."

Whichever route the air force goes down, the National Defense Department will make sure the government gets best value, he said.

"And we will do it very, very fast this time," Manalo said.

The air force already operates Huey helicopters equipped with machine guns it uses for troop transport and logistics evacuation of casualties during disaster-and-relief operations.

The Bulletin said bidding for the helicopters also was stopped for similar reasons in February and, prior to that, in December.

The Manila Standard Today reported Maj. Gen. Raul Dimatactac saying failure to get sufficient supplier bids was a blow to the air force.

"The 21 [helicopters] are very important to our inventory in the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing in order to effectively respond not only to requirements of the armed forces but [other] agencies," the vice commander said.

He said the helicopter wing has only 21 Hueys in operation.

"Our 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing used to have four squadrons and a squadron is composed of 24 helicopters," Dimatactac said.

The air force needs 96 Hueys, but has only 76 in its inventory.

"Of this number, 33 are beyond repair and 22 are recoverable. We have only 21 operational at present.," Dimatactac said.

"That's why we badly need to procure the 21 UH-IH1 helicopters."

He said the air force originally asked the defense department for 45 Huey's last year.

The Philippine Star newspaper reported Friday that eight firms, apart from the Rice Aircraft and Eagle Copters joint venture, had expressed interest in bidding for the contract.

The other companies were Radom Aviation Systems, Serpenair Group Inc./Bell Helicopter, St. Aerospace Engineering, Stone of David Tactical Equipment, Overseas Aircraft Support, Aerospace Engineering Group and Philjets Aero Services/Vector Aerospace.

9/11/2013 Strategy Page

PACIFIC OCEAN (Sept. 6, 2013) A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter prepares to take off from the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4). Boxer is deployed in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility conducting maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts as part of the Boxer Amphibious Ready Group. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication 2nd Class Kenan O'Connor)

September 11, 2013 Shishir Gupta and Pramit Pal Chaudhuri -  Hindustan Times

New Delhi - India wants to ink a deal for six Chinook heavy-duty helicopters by the time Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets US President Barack Obama on September 27 in Washington.

A half-dozen CH-47 Chinooks, a twin-engined helicopter capable of carrying 50 troops or 6.5 metric tonnes of cargo, will carry a price tag of about $500 million (`3,200 crore).

Introduced in 1962, the Chinook played a major role in the Vietnam war and has been the mainstay of the American forces in Afghanistan.

The Boeing-made helicopters will be bought through the foreign military sales route in which arms are sold in a government-to-government deal on a fixed price basis — ruling out haggling that often invites bribery charge.

The Chinook deal is being fast-tracked, say Indian government sources, and New Delhi hopes to have it finalised by December.

This is partly being driven by a desire to flesh out the thin agenda at the Washington summit. The proposal will be added to the schedule of US deputy secretary of defence Ashton Carter when he comes to New Delhi September 16-18.

The Indian side wants some major defence purchases readied for the summit, but other Indo-US weapons deals are caught in red tape. For example, the M777 howitzer deal has been in the works for two years and now, in part because of rupee devaluation, the price tag is bigger.

The Chinooks also face barriers. Boeing recently tried to add limited liability clauses to its military purchases and the Indian government is not happy about it. US sources say they have yet to receive any notification from the ministry of defence about the Chinooks.

The induction of the Chinooks will confirm the Stars and Stripes look of the Indian Air Force’s airlift capabilities. India has already bought C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster heavy-lift airplanes.

Military sources say the US aircraft have proven better at functioning at high-altitudes then the Russian planes they are replacing.

India has been mulling buying Chinooks to replace the Russian-made Mi-26 transport helicopters that were transformational when they were introduced a quarter-century ago but have a record of chronic maintenance problems.

India will be the 17th air force in the world to use Chinooks.

Sept. 09, 2013 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: Government Accountability Office; issued Sept. 6, 2013)

DoD's Waiver of Competitive Prototyping Requirement for the VXX Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program

The Department of Defense's (DOD) rationale for waiving the competitive prototyping requirement in the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009, as amended (WSARA), for the VXX program addresses one of the two bases provided in the statute; namely that the cost of producing competitive prototypes exceeds the expected life-cycle benefits (in constant dollars) of producing the prototypes.

The VXX program's acquisition strategy provided the primary justification for the prototyping waiver. According to the waiver, VXX requirements can be met by integrating an existing, in-production, flight-proven aircraft with mature mission systems. The Navy in its waiver request also concluded that the integration activities planned for the VXX program do not require additional technology maturation or risk reduction beyond that already being accomplished by the government through its own prototyping of certain critical mission subsystems.

Recognizing that the intent of competitive prototyping is to reduce cost and risk, DOD took other actions that could arguably achieve these goals. Specifically, DOD decided to reduce requirements, use an existing aircraft, and mature critical subsystems before integrating them on the aircraft. In the waiver, DOD also found reasonable the Navy's cost-benefit analysis, which examined multiple acquisition strategies with system- and subsystem-level prototyping from one or two contractors.

In all, the Navy examined six different acquisition strategies and concluded that requiring competitive prototyping would delay fielding an initial operational capability by 16 months and increase development costs by about $782 million to $3.38 billion (in base year 2011 dollars), depending on the type and number of prototypes. The Navy also estimated that the more costly system-level prototyping strategies could achieve an estimated $542 million in life-cycle cost benefits by improving the reliability of the aircraft, which in turn could reduce the number of helicopters required. According to the Navy, the cost data used in its cost-benefit analysis were drawn from the VXX analysis of alternatives study and related activities. The Navy used cost estimating procedures on the VXX analysis of alternatives that substantially complied with best practices.

Why GAO Did This Study

On July 10, 2013, GAO received notice from DOD that it had waived the competitive prototyping requirement for the VXX Presidential Helicopter Replacement Program. In this report, GAO assesses DOD's rationale for waiving the competitive prototyping requirement for VXX and the analysis used to support it.


Click here for the full report (9 PDF pages) on the GAO website.

09.09.2013 Helen Chachaty - journal-aviation.com

Lockheed Martin et Bell Helicopter ont conjointement annoncé ce 9 septembre que Lockheed Martin allait intégrer l’équipe de développement du « tiltrotor » V-280 Valor de Bell. D’autres partenaires industriels devraient rejoindre le programme dans les prochains mois, selon le communiqué.

Le V-280 Valor avait été présenté par Bell Helicopter le 10 avril dernier. Le programme de tiltrotor a été développé par l’hélicoptériste dans le cadre de l’appel d’offre Joint Multi Role/Future Vertical Lift présenté en 2011 par l’US Army. L’appareil devrait avoir les caractéristiques suivantes : vitesse de croisière maximale de 280 nœuds (d’où son nom), autonomie de 500 à 80 nautiques et capacité de transport de 15 personnes (équipage de quatre PN compris).

Lockheed Martin et Bell Helicopter sont en concurrence avec Boeing et Sikorsky, qui ont annoncé un partenariat en janvier 2013 pour un appareil basé sur le X2 de Sikorsky.

Le V-280 Valor a été shortlisté par l’US Army en juin, les contrats de ce programme de développement devraient être annoncés d’ici la fin de l’année.

5 septembre 2013 radio-canada.ca – (La Presse Canadienne)

Le gouvernement Harper pourrait être prêt à jeter l'éponge dans le projet d'achat des hélicoptères CH-148 Cyclone, retardé depuis des lunes, et a même dépêché en Grande-Bretagne des représentants du secteur militaire pour évaluer d'autres appareils.

Selon des sources du ministère de la Défense, l'équipe, qui inclut un officier de la division des besoins en ressources aériennes des Forces aériennes, a visité une base située dans le sud du Royaume-Uni, récemment, pour jeter un coup d'oeil aux hélicoptères HM-1 Merlin de la Royal Navy.

Une porte-parole de la ministre des Travaux publics, Diane Finley, a confirmé que le gouvernement étudiait des options « autres » que les hélicoptères Cyclone, qui accusent un retard de plusieurs années et dont les coûts ont largement dépassé les estimations budgétaires.

Suite de l'article

Sep 4, 2013 ASDNews Source : Hamilton Sundstrand

UTC Aerospace Systems has signed a major contract with French company HeliDax SAS to provide aftermarket service for its fleet of helicopters – the largest EC120 worldwide fleet in operation today. UTC Aerospace Systems is a unit of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX).

Actuation Systems will provide flight controls and hydraulic operational support based on flying hours including consignment stock at the HeliDax SAS facility to aid daily operations.

The French Ministry of Defense awarded a 22 year contract in January 2008 to HeliDax SAS for training military pilots.

HeliDax has to provide a maximum of 22,000 flying hours per year on their fleet of 36 EC120 helicopters renamed "Calliope" which are fitted with special training equipment such as auto pilot, glass cockpit systems and full night vision imaging systems (NVIS).

Training was previously performed by the French army with Gazelles.

Andreas Schell, president Actuation Systems said, "Helping customers to support their strategies and provide innovative solutions to manage their maintenance spending, asset requirements and repair needs more effectively is at the heart of the business. I am delighted that HeliDax SAS recognizes the value this agreement can provide in managing its fleet."