The Ministry of Defence Brunei Darussalam signed the Customer Acceptance Test (CAT) certificate for the first batch of Airbus H145M helicopters at Delivery Docks, Airbus Helicopters Deutschland (AHD), Donauwörth. The signing marks a significant milestone in the acquisition, with delivery of the batch to Brunei Darussalam scheduled for November 2026. Upon arrival at AHD, the Ministry of Defence delegation, led by the Coordinating Minister for National Security, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II, Yang Berhormat Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Retired) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Awang Halbi bin Haji Mohd Yussof, was welcomed by Stefan Thomé, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of AHD, together with Vincent Dubrule, Senior Vice President and Head of Region Asia Pacific, Airbus Helicopters, and Constance Pinsdorf, Vice President and Head of the H145M Programme.
The ceremony commenced with welcoming remarks by Stefan Thomé, who reaffirmed AHD’s commitment to supporting the successful delivery of the H145M helicopters. The CAT certificate was subsequently signed on behalf of the Ministry of Defence by Yang Mulia 944 Major (Udara) Mohammad Hazwan bin Husny, Royal Brunei Air Force, as Deputy Head of the Integrated Project Team (IPT), while Constance Pinsdorf signed on behalf of AHD. The signing was witnessed by the Coordinating Minister for National Security, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Minister of Defence II, and Stefan Thomé, the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of AHD. Also present were the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces, Yang Mulia Major General Dato Paduka Seri Haji Muhammad Haszaimi bin Bol Hassan; the Commander of the Royal Brunei Air Force, Yang Mulia Brigadier General (Udara) Haji Haszahaidi bin Haji Ahmad Daud; and officials from the Ministry of Defence and members of the IPT. Also present at the ceremony was Her Excellency Pengiran Hajah Krtini binti Pengiran Haji Mohd. Tahir, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Brunei Darussalam to the Federal Republic of Germany.
The ceremony continued with the signing of the Golden Book of Airbus and an exchange of commemorative gifts, followed by the recitation of Doa Selamat by Yang Mulia 1392 Captain Pengiran Muhammad Nur Hafizan bin Pengiran Haji Hasan. After the signing ceremony, the Ministry of Defence delegation visited Airbus Helicopters’ Training Academy in Augsburg and Donauwörth, where four pilots from the Royal Brunei Air Force are currently undergoing training in Augsburg led by Yang Mulia 922 Major (Udara) Muhammad Adib bin Haji Hashim @ Haji Bakar, and eight aircraft technicians undergoing training in Donauwörth led by 15078 Warrant Officer 2 (Udara) Samsul bin Sablih. During the visit, the delegation was also welcomed and greeted by Mr Matthieu Louvot, the Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Helicopters. Under the Support Helicopter Project, the contract for the acquisition of the Airbus H145M helicopters was signed on 30 April 2024 between the Ministry of Defence, on behalf of the Government of His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam, and AHD for the delivery of six Airbus H145M helicopters to replace the Royal Brunei Air Force’s decommissioned Bolkow BO-105 helicopters.
The Airbus Helicopters H145 (formerly the Eurocopter EC145) is a twin-engine light utility helicopter developed and manufactured by Airbus Helicopters. Originally designated as the BK 117, 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 into Eurocopter. The helicopter was initially named EC145; an updated version, EC145 T2, was renamed H145 in 2015. The helicopter was significantly updated in the 2020s with a fenestron replacing the traditional tail rotor, followed later by a 5-blade main rotor head. The H145 is a twin-engine aircraft and can carry up to nine passengers along with two crew, depending on customer configuration. The helicopter is marketed for passenger transport, corporate transport, emergency medical services (EMS), search and rescue, parapublic and utility roles. Military variants of the helicopter have also been produced under various designations, such as H145M or UH-72, and have been used for training, logistics, medical evacuation, reconnaissance, light attack, and troop-transport operations.
