The Ministry of Interior of Bavaria in Germany has ordered eight five-bladed Airbus H145s for its police force, following a European tender launched earlier this year. The helicopters will replace the state's current H135 fleet and will be operated from the two bases of the Bavarian helicopter squadron at the airports in Munich and in Roth, close to Nuremberg. The first delivery is planned for 2023.

“We'd like to thank the Bavarian government for its continued trust in our helicopters. This is good news for the employees at our Donauwörth site,” says Wolfgang Schoder, managing director of Airbus Helicopters in Germany. “The five-bladed H145s will further enhance the mission capabilities of the Bavarian Police. The flood in Germany and the pandemic have clearly demonstrated how important helicopters are for our society.”

More than 200 helicopters from the H145 family are deployed for public services and law enforcement missions around the world. This latest upgrade adds a five-bladed rotor, increasing the useful load by 150 kg. The simplicity of the new bearingless main rotor design will also ease maintenance operations, further improving benchmark serviceability and reliability, while improving ride comfort for both passengers and crew.