Airbus Helicopters, IAR beef up strategic partnership for H145M helicopter

Airbus Helicopters and IAR have inked an Industrial Cooperation Agreement for the customization of the H145M helicopter for the Romanian armed forces' attack missions, in the presence of Claudiu Nasui, minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Tourism, and Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, according to a release by Airbus, sent on Wednesday to AGERPRES.

The said cooperation programme includes the transfer of high-level technology capacity and know-how from Airbus Helicopters to the Romanian Defence Industry, with the objective of ensuring the technical availability of the H145M helicopter fleet to be operated by the Romanian Ministry of National Defence (MApN).

This new agreement adds to the existing exclusive Industrial Cooperation Agreement, under which IAR has become the main contractor for H215M for any future orders from the Romanian MApN to replace the aging fleet of helicopters.

"We are ready to set up industrial defense facilities in Romania to ensure the country's full autonomy in the production, operations, services, maintenance and repair of H215M multi-role helicopters and H145M multi-role light helicopters," Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters, said.

"The signing of this Industrial Cooperation Agreement is the next step in our collaboration with IAR and is based on 50 years of active contribution to the Romanian aviation industry. We have a strong collaboration with our IAR partner and other important players in the aviation industry, and over the years we have made significant investments in our units, in specializing our employees and also in education," he added.

"We have proven experience in providing quality and reliability and are now ready for development through innovation. We can only do this through a very strong and consistent partnership. IAR Brasov and Airbus have a long history together and we have the opportunity to increase our commitment to offer the best products for our customers in the near future," Laurien Anastasof, IAR's managing director said.

In order to beef up its presence on the Romanian market, IAR would be responsible for the production and customization of H215M and H145M helicopters in Brasov.

These two projects would bring substantial benefits to Romania, such as employment, the acquisition of high-level professional skills, higher contributions to the local budget, investments in education, and would allow Romania to join the exclusive club of countries capable of producing H215 / H215M type helicopters.AGERPRES