Airbus Helicopters has been awarded a contract for 12 H225M multi-role helicopters by the Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MoD), the company announced on 6 September 2024.
The contract was signed in Baghdad by the Iraqi Defence Minister Thabet al-Abbassi in the presence of the French ambassador to Iraq, Patrick Durel.
The dozen H225Ms will be operated by the Iraqi Army Aviation Command, replacing older Mi-17s in a wide range of roles, including counter-terrorism missions, special operations, tactical troop transport, ground attack and fire support, medical evacuation and combat search and rescue.
Deliveries will start in 2025.
“We are very pleased to welcome a new member in the H225M family,” Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, was quoted as saying in an Airbus press release. “The H225M is a combat-proven platform used around the world by many operators, including the French Air Force, for combat search and rescue missions. It has proven its worth and saved many lives since entering into service.
“The H225M is unmatched in terms of range, payload and also mission systems,” Even added. “It has been designed to operate challenging missions in the most demanding environments. We are looking forward to seeing the H225M contribute to Iraq’s safety and sovereignty.”
Airbus noted that the H225M has benefited from the company’s continuous improvement policy, stating that the aircraft “is now equipped with new avionics, an enhanced main gear box, airborne communication systems and can be equipped with the HForce weapon system”.
The H225M’s maximum take-off weight has also been increased by 160 kg to reach 11,160 kg.
As the militarised version of the H225, the 11-tonne H225M is the most advanced member of Airbus’ military Super Puma/Cougar family and was previously known as the Eurocopter EC725 Caracal.
There are currently more than 350 H225s and H225Ms in service worldwide, which have clocked up more than 880,000 flight hours, according to Airbus. Military customers include France, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Mexico, Kuwait, Brazil, and Hungary.
Iraq already operates a fleet of Airbus helicopters, including aircraft from the H125, H135 and H145 families.
