Airbus seeing increased interest in H225 as firefighting platform
ByOliver Johnson | Retrieved from Vertical Magazine
Airbus Helicopters is targeting growth in firefighting work for its H225 and H215 Super Puma family, and believes the aircraft’s civil certification proves a major selling point — particularly in the U.S. — compared to the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk.
Michel Macia, head of the H225 program at Airbus, said the manufacturer has been having discussions in California with people who are showing a lot of interest in the type for the firefighting role — a role that it is becoming increasingly used for.
“The reason why we are in this market is there is a huge potential. There are 400 aircraft flying in firefighting in Europe, and 400 in the United States,” he said, noting the proliferation of the Black Hawk in the U.S. “So, it’s a huge potential market, and I am not afraid about the fact that we can get part of this big [market] in the future. And so we are, step by step. . . There is a lot of demand in the world for this kind of [platform].”
The Black Hawk has dominated the heavy-lift commercial firefighting space in the U.S. since first entering the civil world through the U.S. Army’s Black Hawk Exchange and Sales Team (BEST) Program in 2014. Commercial operators across the U.S. have taken advantage of the program to add the highly-capable aircraft to their fleets — but as former military machines, the types must be flown as restricted category aircraft.
This restricts their ability to transport passengers or fly over urban areas (without regulatory permission), or in class B airspace near busy airports.
“You have a lot of different restrictions because it’s a military aircraft,” said Macia. “[The H225] is a civil aircraft certified by the FAA and EASA, so it has no restriction normally, and it can be used on multi-purpose [missions].”
He admitted that the Black Hawks market is at a different price point to that of the Super Puma, but said Airbus doesn’t plan to compete for the same customers.
“It’s a cheap market and we are not there,” he said. “Basically, what we are targeting much more is the government [agenices], because the government wants to perform different missions. In California, it will not be the operator investing, but more the cities for the state.”
Macia also highlighted the safety considerations inherant with choosing a commercial aircraft over a military surplus type, with a civil certification process that demands a higher level of reliability (or smaller chance of catastrophic failure).
“I think that the current market will move, and the dominance today of Black Hawk will probably not be the dominance tomorrow, because of the military side and because of the safety side,” he said.
The recent surge in interest for firefighting operations is due to the increasing frequency of severe fires — and the increasing length of fire seasons, said Macia. This is resulting in a new level of investment in aircraft to be able to combat these blazes.
“In the past, the US Forest [Service] were contracting operators for six months for firefighting,” he said. “Now, for the first time, they have been contracting people for five years with a potential renewal of five years. So obviously, when you have 10 years in front of you, it’s easier to acquire new aircraft and to invest.”
Earlier this year, Airbus received an order for eight H215s — the smaller member of the Super Puma family — from the Greek government, with the aircraft destined for use fighting wildfires in the country.
The contract also sees Airbus partnering with Airtelis and SAF Helicopteres — experienced H215 operators — to provide technical and operational support for the aircraft. The “government-owned, contractor operated” (GOCO) model is one that could be brought across the Atlantic, said Macia.
“I have been discussing with some potential U.S. customers in firefighting, and they were also very interested in this global packaging, where basically we are putting all the setup necessary to perform the firefighting — not only the helicopter, but the pilots, maintenance, and finally [to ensure] the availability [of the aircraft].”
He said the large base of Super Pumas in the continent — with about 40 aircraft — provided “different possibilities” in terms of partner opportunities.
The H215, said Macia, is the better choice for the role if you only plan to use the aircraft for firefighting. But if the aircraft will be used for multiple missions, the H225 is the ideal choice, he said.
“The discussion I had in California was, ‘Yes, we want to use it for firefighting — but also for search-and-rescue.’ In that case, it’s better to have a 225, because it has a larger range and larger cabin,” said Macia.
Elsewhere, the Super Puma is making a small — but increasing — return to offshore work, performing flights to oil-and-gas installations in China, Vietnam, Africa, and Brazil. Energy company Shell has also approved the Super Puma for work in the sector.
However, Macia said the company is not marketing the aircraft to the oil-and-gas sector.
“We are very reactive to the market, because we know it’s a sensitive market due to the accident in Norway,” he said, referencing the fatal crash of an H225 near Turoy, Norway, in 2016, which was caused by a main gearbox failure.
“Is there a possibility to go in the North Sea [market]? Yes, of course. But we will not push.”
Airbus received orders for 58 Super Pumas in 2024, which showed, according to Macia, “the momentum of the market,” as well as the aircraft’s suitability for work in different operating sectors.
The Super Puma production line in Marignane is currently running at a rate of between 20 to 25 aircraft per year.
Macia said the growth in the civil market is helping to balance demand for the Super Puma with military customers — resulting in a more smooth production cycle.
Today, there are 760 Super Puma family helicopters in service, flown by 110 operators in 66 countries. The type has recorded six million flight hours.