COLOGNE, Germany — The German Defence Ministry has signed a contract with Airbus for 62 H145M light attack helicopters, with a portion of the fleet equipped to fight tanks from afar — a direct lesson from the fighting in Ukraine.
Under the order, 57 of the aircraft will go to the Army and five to Air Force special operations forces. Twenty more are envisioned under a future option, Airbus Helicopters said in a Dec. 14 statement. Deliveries will begin in 2024, in accordance with the seller.
German lawmakers approved the requisite funding request of €2.1 billion (U.S. $2.3 billion) on Dec. 13. All aircraft shall be able to carrying an armaments package that’s slated to incorporate the Spike LR guided anti-tank missile, but only 24 will initially be set as much as that end, in accordance with parliamentary defense sources in Berlin that spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The acquisition, including the envisioned anti-tank capabilities, comes against the backdrop of recent insights into the requirement for standoff capabilities when countering tanks. In Ukraine, Russian helicopters were capable of pick off Ukrainian armored vehicles by firing their missiles from a secure distance.
The most recent version of the Spike LR missile, an Israeli design marketed by Eurospike in Europe, can reach targets 10 kilometers (6 miles) away when fired from helicopters, in accordance with the manufacturer.
“We are going to make sure that the Bundeswehr [German military] receives the helicopters in accordance with the very ambitious delivery schedule which incorporates first deliveries in 2024 lower than a yr after contract signature,” said Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters.
The brand new helicopters are slated to switch Germany’s fleet of Tiger choppers. Despite the hefty buy, defense officials consider the H145M fleet a “bridging solution” until a brand new generation of drones and loitering munitions are ready for fielding in the long run.
The H145M is a military-specific derivative of a family of helicopters also available to the law enforcement market. The German military already operates 24 of the twin-engine aircraft for special operations in addition to search and rescue missions, an Airbus statement read. The U.S. Army’s 500-strong fleet of Lakota light utility helicopters is predicated on the identical design.
Sebastian Sprenger is associate editor for Europe at Defense News, reporting on the state of the defense market within the region, and on U.S.-Europe cooperation and multi-national investments in defense and global security. Previously he served as managing editor for Defense News. He is predicated in Cologne, Germany.