Airbus To Set Up Romanian Factory For H215 heavy helicopter Production

Airbus Helicopters is reviving Romania's aircraft manufacturing industry for assembling the latest H215 helicopter to join the H Family of aircraft.

The H215 is an evolution of the former AS332 C1e/L1e, offering a new business and industrial concept for this ready and affordable helicopter, built in Romania.

Under the control of Airbus Helicopters Industries, the 10,000m² factory based in Brasov will house H215 production from procurement to after-sales, including design office activities, the company announced Tuesday.

The modern assembly line with its takt time flow line will be capable of producing up to 15 aircraft per year. The first H215 to roll out of the assembly line is planned for 2017.

“The H215 is of strategic importance to Airbus Helicopters and will allow us to offer customers the best helicopter for the job, all with direct operating and maintenance costs,” Guillaume Faury, CEO of Airbus Helicopters said.

“This expanded partnership with Romania, an important EU and NATO member, will ensure that our legacy twin-engine heavy helicopters are more economical than ever on current and emerging markets,” he added.

All H215 helicopters will come off the final assembly line in a highly capable standard configuration, able to support an extensive list of optionals (“shopping list”) ready to be selected. This new concept provides a modern and cost-effective solution for markets such as utility, United Nations peacekeeping operations and logistic support missions.

The H215 helicopter combines advanced avionics and a reliable platform for rugged multi-mission capabilities. It offers long range capabilities, power, speed, a large useful payload and very good lifting performance in hot and high environments.

The aircraft which is certified by EASA and FAA, is equipped with the latest technologies meeting the latest safety requirements of the market. This includes a glass cockpit and the 4-axis autopilot used on the H225, which provides flight envelope protection, unrivalled precision, and stability in even the harshest operating conditions.