The Ecuadorian Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana) signed a contract with Airbus Helicopters for the purchase of six twin-engine H145M helicopters. Together with the helicopters Airbus will provide a training and support package. No contract value or delivery timeline for the helicopters was disclosed. The new helicopters will be assigned to the 22 Fighter Wing at Guayaquil and will be tasked with transport, search and rescue, combat, medical evacuation, surveillance, and security missions.
The H145Ms will replace the Air Force’s Indian-built HAL Dhruv helicopters, Ecuador bought seven such helicopters a decade ago, four of which were lost in accidents with the remaining three being grounded. They will join the service’s four new Leonardo AgustaWestland AW119 Koala helicopters purchased earlier this year to complement its fleet of Bell 212 and TH-57 (Bell 206). According to a statement from the Air Force, the new helicopters will “strengthen the operational capacity” of the service.
The H145M is a twin-engine light military helicopter developed and manufactured by Eurocopter, which was rebranded as Airbus Helicopters. The helicopter was first delivered in 2015 to the German Armed Forces and has since been ordered by Thailand, the Republic of Serbia, Luxembourg, and Hungary. It gaining popularity among defense forces due to their excellent price-performance ratio and the short delivery time. Powered by two Safran Arriel 2E engines, the H145M is equipped with full authority digital engine control (FADEC). Its particularly low acoustic footprint makes the H145M the quietest helicopter in its class.
