______________________________________________________________________________________ Airbus
Helicopters UK
helicopters . The Pumas are due to be taken out of service and the MoD is expected shortly to launch a competition to replace them under the New Military Helicopter ( NMH ) program – it could have dramatic consequences for the company . Lenny says : “ Our goal is to bid for the contract to replace the 23 Puma helicopters that we currently support . We ’ ll be up against giants like Lockheed Martin , so , we have formed strategic partnerships with Boeing , Spirit AeroSystems and Babcock International to stand us in good stead .
Complex configurations
“ If we are selected , we will produce our candidate helicopter – the H175M – at a brand new facility at the existing Airbus wing-building plant at Broughton in North Wales . It has incredible potential to reinvigorate the UK ’ s underperforming helicopter industry .”
Lenny details the current capabilities in the UK , which have led to the company ’ s enviable market position . “ It is important to note that we don ’ t produce helicopters at our Oxford facility ,” he explains . “ The aircraft are delivered to us from Airbus factories in France and Germany and we then apply the mission systems , avionics , upholstery and so on depending on the end customer ’ s specification . In other words , we act as a customization shop . We employ over 40 aircraft design engineers who can design pretty much anything we require in or on the aircraft . That covers our VIP , military , air ambulance , and police helicopters – some of which have highly complex configurations , which are our speciality .
“ Our team of engineers is digitally connected with the wider Airbus Helicopters design team in France and Germany , which empowers all teams to share data on designs . The designers focus on developing the aircraft customizations and then the installation engineers put those designs on the aircraft . A great example of that process is on the H130 helicopter we ’ re currently working on in association with Aston Martin under our Airbus Corporate Helicopters brand – christened the ACH130 Aston Martin Edition . The interiors are all handstitched leather and
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