The Hungarian Air Force will operate a total of 20 Airbus-built H145Ms, equipped with the modular and incremental HForce weapons management system. This helicopter, which is currently being fitted with the HForce weapon management system, has changed the way Hungary’s Defence Forces fly. As of the end of 2020, three H145Ms have been upgraded with two more planned for March 2021. The H145M joined the fleet of the Hungarian Air Force one year ago. For many decades, Hungary used Mi-8 and Mi-17 helicopters for utility missions and Mi-24 helicopters for attack roles. The Hungarian Air Force had to renew their fleet to communicate and work properly with the Hungarian Land and Special Forces. There were many helicopters in the European market, but the H145 was at the top of the list.
The H145Ms of the Hungarian fleet are fitted with the HForce weapon management system developed by Airbus Helicopters, which allows Hungary to equip and operate their aircraft with a complete range of ballistic or guided weapons. They are also equipped with a fast roping system, high-performance camera, dual cargo hook, hoist, disaster management kit, ballistic protection and an electronic countermeasures system to support the most demanding operational requirements. The H145M will allow the Hungarian Air Force to take over the SAR missions currently assumed by transport helicopters in Hungary. It will also be used for Special Forces missions. The Hungarian Air Force will be able to perform reconnaissance missions and command and control (RC2) using the sensors to communicate in real time with the teams on the ground.
HForce is a unique, exhaustive and flexible weapon system designed to meet the requirements of defence agencies seeking light attack mission capabilities or a complement to their existing fleet of specialised attack helicopters. Drawing on experience with the Tiger attack helicopter, Airbus has developed an off-the-shelf solution to address a large scope of customers’ armament needs. It is modular and incremental, and can be fitted onto any military version of Airbus’ commercial helicopter range (H125M, H145M, H225M). Conceived as a modular and incremental system, HForce offers a multi-purpose mission computer interchangeable from one helicopter to another and a large choice of weapons (air-to-air, air-to-ground, ballistic or guided) to comply with any operational need.
The Airbus Helicopters H145 is a twin-engine light utility helicopter helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally referred to as the BK 117 C2, the H145 is based upon the MBB/Kawasaki BK 117 C1, which became a part of the combined Eurocopter line-up in 1992 with the merger of Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm’s helicopter division of Daimler-Benz and the helicopter division of Aérospatiale-Matra to form Eurocopter. Military variants of the helicopter, briefly designated as EC645 T2 have also been produced under various designations and have been used for training, logistics, medical evacuation, reconnaissance, light attack, and troop-transport operations. H145M is a militarised version of the H145; briefly designated as EC645 T2. UH-72A Lakota is a militarised Light Utility Helicopter based on the basic EC145 model; operated by the US Army.
