The Government of Cyprus has ordered six H145M light multi-role helicopters from Airbus Helicopters for use by the National Guard, Airbus Helicopters has announced. A further six aircraft are considered as an option. Another source revealed that Cyprus has earmarked up to €140M for the 12 helicopters, armament and support.
Cyprus will receive the latest version of the H145M with a five-blade rotor and the option to arm it with the HForce weapon fit. With HForce, the full range of weapons from machine guns to unguided and guided missiles is available with fire control via integrated observation means.
Cyprus becomes the fifth H145M operator in Europe after:
- Hungary (20)
- Germany (12),
- Serbia (nine)
- Luxembourg (two)
Other H145s are used in Thailand (five) and the USA. The latter has over 460 UH-72s in service, which are derived from civilian H124s and intended for military use.
GWH
