Eurocopter has announced a deal with the German Federal Border Guard (BGS) for thirteen new

EC135 and 155 helicopters in a contract worth EUR 68 million. The agreement will see BGS supply eleven EC135s and two EC155s starting later this year and will increase the number of Eurocopter aircraft in the BGS fleet to 37.

BGS has been modernising its fleet since 1997 and the two models replace helicopters that have been in service for over thirty years. The cockpit family concept, as used in the EC135 and 155, requires less time for training and familiarisation resulting in reduced costs for BGS.

The deal comes after Eurocopter announced a 10 per cent increase in turnover for 2001 when 375 new helicopter orders were made. The consolidated turnover amounted to EUR 2.243 billion in the twelve months to January.

Orders for 2001 included 81 EC120s, 10 Dauphin/Panthers and 2 BO105s and total orders credited over EUR 2,825 million to the company. \r

Eurocopter president Jean-François Bigay said that he was particularly satisfied with the orders, which reflected “the excellent range of products offered by Eurocopter.”

Despite the economic downturn encountered after September 11, Eurocopter has continued to observe an upswing in civil aviation sales, delivering 495 helicopters compared to 477 in the previous year.

Eurocopter delivered 280 helicopters during the year in the civil sector, representing 57 per cent of the global market. The company says the number of deliveries is primarily due to the success of the EC120B Colibri as well as the AS350 and the EC135 helicopter families.

The last year has seen Eurocopter commercially launch the EC130B4 at Helioexpo in Anaheim (USA), and deliver the 3,000th helicopter from the Squirrel family, also an EC130B4.