Bavarian Police Receives Upgraded Airbus H135s Helicopter

Airbus Helicopters announced today that it has delivered the first retrofitted H135s choppers to the Bavarian Police in Germany.

The H135s, currently showcased at the ongoing Paris Airshow is upgraded to retrofit package that significantly improves the operating performance and the handling qualities retaining the payload lift capabilities of this lightweight twin-engine rotorcraft.

Three of the law enforcement agency’s eight helicopters have completed the process and are already in service today, with the remaining five to be converted and delivered during the upcoming months. The retrofits are being applied at Airbus Helicopters’ production facility in Donauwörth, Germany, which is home to the H135 production line.

During the past weeks the upgraded helicopters have been deployed on a variety of missions in the police fleet’s range of tasks. On the occasion of the recent G7 summit in Bavaria, the retrofitted machines proved their advantages in performance and handling. The resulting gain in safety was especially evident during flights at night and in the difficult, mountainous terrain.

“Providing retrofits for the H135 corresponds to our company’s guidelines of quality and safety, as it offers our customers an economical solution to increase the capabilities of their machines,” explained Axel Humpert, Head of the H135 program at Airbus Helicopters. “The latest H135 continues to lead the market of its class in payload and low operative costs.”

Included in the retrofit package is an enlarged main rotor with improved blade profiles, the transfer of front-mounted engine air intakes to a lateral position, augmented engine capacities and an extension of the horizontal stabilizer’s span and removal of its endplates, while the tail skid is replaced with a mini bumper.

“In addition to the improved handling and yaw control, the upgrade also effects a lower noise footprint resulting from the increased rotor diameter,” Humpert added.