Airbus Helicopters has received EASA certification for the power upgrade of its single engine H125 helicopter. Announced at Heli-Expo last year, this major evolution increases the aircraft's power by up to 10 per cent by making full use of the available thrust of the existing Safran Helicopter Engines' Arriel 2D.

While the MTOW of the aircraft remains unchanged, its external and internal load lifting capabilities are increased for a large part of the flight domain (by up to +140 kg), while the hover ceiling OGE at MTOW is increased by more than 1,500 ft (up to 12,600 ft).

“It is our ambition to continuously improve our products and bring further competitive advantages to our customers,” says Axel Aloccio, head of the light helicopters programme. “The extra power offered by this major upgrade represents a 10 per cent to 20 per cent payload increase for a typical aerial work mission versus the aircraft's current lifting capabilities and confirms the superiority of the H125 in terms of payload and value for money.”

This extra power will be included as a standard feature, at no additional cost, on all new-built H125s delivered from September 2021 onwards. A retrofit solution consisting of a VEMD software upgrade, available from Thales via an in-shop retrofit or standard exchange, will also be available for all H125s already in service within the EASA region by the end of April 2021. Additional international certifications are expected to be obtained in the coming months.

With more than 4,000 helicopters in service with about 1,500 global customers and 28.5 million accumulated flight hours, the H125 continues to be a leader in the single engine helicopter market in all mission segments thanks to its high performance and multi-mission capacity. In the last 10 years, 1,420 H125s have been delivered, resulting in a 52 per cent market share.