Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter S.A., trading as Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries, holding 48% of the worldwide market share as of 2020. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence Airport in Marignane, France, near Marseille. The main facilities of Airbus Helicopters are at its headquarters in Marignane, France, and in Donauwörth, Germany, with additional production plants in Spain, Brazil, Canada, Australia, Romania, the United Kingdom and the United States. The company, originally named Eurocopter, was rebranded Airbus Helicopters on 2 January 2014.
>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<
👉 Airbus Helicopters in the context of Airbus
Airbus SE (/ˈɛərbʌs/ AIR-buss; French: [ɛʁbys] ; German: [ˈɛːɐ̯bʊs] ; Spanish: [ˈejɾβus]) is a European aerospace corporation. While the company's primary business is the design and manufacture of commercial aircraft, it also operates separate divisions for Defence and Space and Helicopters. Airbus has long been the world's leading helicopter manufacturer and, in 2019, emerged as the world's largest manufacturer of airliners.
Airbus originated from Airbus Industrie GIE, a consortium of European aerospace companies established in 1970 to produce a wide-body aircraft to compete with American-built airliners. In 2000, the consortium's parent firms—Aérospatiale-Matra of France, DASA of Germany, and CASA of Spain—merged to form the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), which later acquired full ownership of Airbus Industrie. EADS rebranded as Airbus SE in 2015. Reflecting its multinational origins, the company operates offices and assembly plants in France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, along with more recent additions in Canada, Malaysia, the United States, Morocco, and India.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Airbus Helicopters
- 👉 Airbus Helicopters in the context of Airbus
- Airbus Helicopters in the context of Eurocopter EC 135
- Airbus Helicopters in the context of Eurocopter EC635
- Airbus Helicopters in the context of Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
- Airbus Helicopters in the context of MBB Bo 105
- Airbus Helicopters in the context of Astrium
Airbus Helicopters in the context of Eurocopter EC 135
The Airbus Helicopters H135 (formerly Eurocopter EC135) is a twin-engine civil light utility helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It is capable of flight under instrument flight rules and is outfitted with a digital automatic flight control system. First flying in February 1994 and developed from the prototype Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB) Bo 108, it entered service in 1996. 1,400 units have been delivered up to September 2020, to 300 operators in 60 countries, accumulating over 5 million flight hours. It is mainly used for air medical transport (medevac), corporate transport, law enforcement, offshore wind support, and military flight training. Half of the units in service are in Europe and a quarter in North America. The H135M, certified under the name Eurocopter EC635, is a military variant, so the overall design is known as the Airbus Helicopters H135 and the military version, as the Airbus Helicopters H135M.
Airbus Helicopters in the context of Eurocopter EC635
The Eurocopter EC635 (now Airbus Helicopters H135M) is a multi-purpose light helicopter developed by Eurocopter (now Airbus Helicopters) as a military version of the Eurocopter EC135. It is a twin-engined aircraft and can carry up to 8 people, including the pilot, and a range of military equipment or armaments. The helicopter is marketed for troop transport, medical evacuation, cargo transport, reconnaissance and surveillance and armed combat support missions.
Airbus Helicopters in the context of Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin
The Eurocopter, later Airbus Helicopters AS365 Dauphin, originally known as the Aérospatiale SA 365 Dauphin 2, is a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter produced by Airbus Helicopters. It was originally developed and manufactured by French firm Aérospatiale, which was merged into the multinational Eurocopter company during the 1990s, and since 2014 Eurocopter was renamed Airbus Helicopters. Since entering production in 1975, the type has been in continuous production for more than 40 years, with the last delivery in 2021. The intended successor to the Dauphin is the Airbus Helicopters H160, which entered operational service in 2021.
The Dauphin 2 shares many similarities with the Aérospatiale SA 360, a commercially unsuccessful single-engine helicopter; however the twin-engine Dauphin 2 did meet with customer demand and has been operated by a wide variety of civil and military operators. Since the type's introduction in the 1970s, several major variations and specialised versions of the Dauphin 2 have been developed and entered production, including the military-oriented Eurocopter Panther, the air-sea rescue HH/MH-65 Dolphin, the Chinese-manufactured Harbin Z-9, and the Eurocopter EC155.
Airbus Helicopters in the context of MBB Bo 105
The Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm Bo 105 is a light, twin-engine, multi-purpose helicopter developed by Bölkow of Ottobrunn, West Germany. It was the first light twin-engine helicopter in the world, and the first rotorcraft that could perform aerobatic maneuvers such as inverted loops. The Bo 105 features a hingeless rotor system, a pioneering innovation in helicopters when it was introduced into service in 1970. Production of the Bo 105 began at the then-recently merged Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm (MBB).
The main production facilities for producing the Bo 105 were located in Germany and Canada; due to the level of export sales encountered, additional manufacturing lines were set up in Spain, Indonesia, and the Philippines. MBB, acquired by DASA in 1989, merged its helicopter division with that of France's Aérospatiale to form Eurocopter in 1992 (rebranded Airbus Helicopters since). The latter continued production of the type until 2001. The Bo 105 was formally replaced in Eurocopter's product range by the newer Eurocopter EC135. By the close of production, over 1400 had been produced in Germany, and with license production 1640 had been produced in total.
Airbus Helicopters in the context of Astrium
Astrium was a European aerospace company and subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), headquartered in Paris. It designed, developed and manufactured civil and military space systems and provided related services from 2006 to 2013. In 2012, Astrium had a turnover of €5.8 billion and 18,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. Astrium was a member of Institute of Space, its Applications and Technologies.
In late 2013 Astrium was merged with Cassidian, the defence division of EADS, as well as Airbus Military to form Airbus Defence and Space. EADS itself was rebranded Airbus Group, with three divisions: Airbus Commercial Aircraft, Airbus Defence and Space, and Airbus Helicopters.