French police are operating 12 EC135s from nine different operational bases in France. The design and test office at the national air training centre reports: "The helicopters have state-of-the-art equipment and our crews are delighted with their excellent flight quality, reliability and high-performance avionics."

It says the choice of aircraft was influenced by the ability to add FLIR Wescam MX-15i camera, a hoist, a boom for quick descent ropes and a Spectrolab SX16 searchlight. "The EC135s have also been equipped with an ECS image transmission system to send FLIR images in real time to ground stations," the centre adds.

The EC135s are used for roles ranging from surveillance and law enforcement to search and special operations. They have replaced a group of Ecureuils operated by airborne units.

The police report: "The new hoist, boom and increased cabin space have really broadened the scope of our missions compared with the Ecureuil. The EC135 can also be used effectively alongside the EC145 which fills a dual role for the gendarmerie (police); mountain rescue work and joint missions with the gendarmerie's special units and the French national police."