The first serial H160 to roll off the new assembly line in Marignane performed a flight demonstration on 17 December in front of the H160 team in an end-of-year celebration of the programme's achievements in 2018.

The helicopter, which will be delivered to launch customer Babcock in 2020, had already performed its first flight on 14 December. The aircraft's unique livery is a testimony to the several hundred people working towards the platform's certification at the end of next year, the programme's industrial maturity and its seamless entry into service, as they have all signed the helicopter.

The first serial aircraft will join the three prototypes, which have already accumulated over 1,000 flight hours, in the final steps of the flight test campaign, namely confirming that the modifications that have been introduced through the serial configuration have no impact on the helicopter's handling qualities.