Airbus Helicopters has recently completed a first round of firing tests using with a variant of the Super Puma helicopters grounded following the latest fatal crash involving the troubled copter.
Airbus is developing a weapons system for its H225M model. Currently, the commercially utilised H225 and AS332L2 have been grounded after the European Aviation Safety Agency issued a directive calling for further inspections to take place following the fatal North Sea helicopter crash near Bergen in April that claimed the lives of all 13 oil workers and crew on board.
Earlier this month Airbus Helicopter announced it would take a more military focus to its business in the coming years.
The move was revealed by Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury who told reporters in Berlin the company would “become a little more military”.
He said the move was likely to take place within the next three to five years and was a simply a “development” rather than something the company had actively pursued.
Airbus’s HForce system is a generic weapon system in development for the company’s commercial helicopter range.
The system, which includes a central core unit, Thales’ Scorpion monocular helmet mounted sight display (HMSD), an electro-optical system (EOS) from Wescam as well as gunner armament weapon grips and weapon pods, has been undergoing testing for the past five months.
A new system undertook a two-week firing campaign involving an HForce-equipped H225M recently took place on a dedicated range in Belgium.
This allowed Airbus Helicopters to demonstrate the performance of HForce with ballistic weapons, including 12,7 mm guns, 70 mm rockets as well as 20 mm cannons.
“This important milestone, achieved on time, demonstrates that HForce achieves excellent results above specifications, and that it provides a real added value in terms of target tracking and acquisition for day or night missions, thanks to the EOS and HMSD”, said Jean-Luc André, HForce Program Manager.
HForce, whose development was launched two years ago, is an incremental, affordable, plug n’ play weapon management system that can be fitted onto any military version of Airbus Helicopters commercial range (H125M, H145M, H225M).
HForce is designed to meet the requirements of defense agencies seeking light attack mission capabilities or a complement to their existing fleet of specialized attack helicopters.